Touchdown, Turnaround
by Eli Malfoy-Black
Summary: "What the hell is he trying to do?" I yelled, slamming the door to the motel shut. "Scar me for life?" Sam's quiet chuckling had me swiveling my head to glare at him. "What's so funny?" "Dude, he's trying to make you jealous." For some reason, the lyrics to "Touchdown, Turnaround" started going through my mind right then... WTH? ON HIATUS TIL 2019
1. Chapter 1

I pressed "play", smiling as Jensen Ackles appeared on screen as Dean Winchester. My eyelids felt so heavy, as if they were weighted down, and I couldn't keep them from closing. I fell into a deep sleep as Dean was meeting Castiel, played by Misha Collins.

 **XXX**

The next thing I knew, I was blinking awake, bright sun making me shut my eyes again. I reached up to rub at my eyes, yawning. I sat up and squinted in the sunlight. _Did I leave the shades open last night?_ I squinted harder, trying to make sense of my surroundings with my near-sighted vision. Reaching to the side, I was surprised when my hand didn't come into contact with my bedside table. Instead, to my horror, I felt grass.

And my glasses.

I picked them up and jammed them on my face, staring around myself in panic and confusion. Where the hell was I? How did I get here? I scrambled to my feet, and looked around for a house, a car, _anyone_ , but all I saw was trees, grass, and a road a few yards off to the right. I bit my lip, and walked over to the road, wondering if I should follow it...

I snapped my head around at the sound of footsteps. A guy stopped about thirty yards away from me, staring at me in confusion and amusement.

"Uh...not that it's any of my business...but you do know you're in your pjs, right?"

 _Oh, fuck me...Jensen Ackles?!_

"I-uh-erm..." I stammered to a stop without getting anything intelligent out.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you speak English? Or are you just tongue-tied?"

"W-w-where am I?" I whispered, hugging my middle tightly. The panic was making it hard for me to focus.

Then he was suddenly there, his face full of concern. "You okay?"

"I don't know..." I couldn't speak louder than a whisper for some reason. "I don't know how I got here...Where am I?"

He gave a bitter chuckle. "Sweetheart, I'd like to find out the same thing."

I couldn't help the scowl. "Don't call me sweetheart. I'm not a girl."

"Coulda fooled me," he smirked, then looked off down the road.

I looked down, and felt my face get hot. Of course this would happen when I got sent here (wherever here was) - I wasn't sent wearing my binder. "I promise you, I'm a boy. I'm trans."

"Oh. Okay." He looked a little embarrassed, then shook his head. "Look, I don't know if you want to, but you can come with me so we can figure out what the hell is going on."

I swallowed hard. "Sounds good."

For the first half hour we walked, we said nothing. Honestly, what could I say? I was starting to get the feeling that this wasn't Jensen I was walking next to, but Dean Winchester. Somehow, I'd been thrust into the world of Supernatural...but how? And why? And who would do such a thing?

"So," he cleared his throat. "What's your name?"

I glanced at him. "Riley. Riley Campbell. Yours?"

"Dean Winchester."

 _Crap. I really am in the Supernatural world...how the hell am I gonna get outta here?_

"You look like you're gonna puke," his voice broke through my thoughts. "You alright?"

I managed a weak smile. "I'm peachy...just feeling a bit...exhausted..."

He nodded in agreement. "I hear you there. Listen, I'll just get a hold of this guy I know, and we'll get you back home." Then he narrowed his eyes at me. "Your name is Campbell?"

I nodded silently, looking off to the side.

"My mother's maiden name was Campbell..."

 _Shit...I should've made up a name._.. "O-oh?"

"Any relation to Mary Campbell?" He failed miserably at sounding nonchalant. I could hear the blazing curiosity in his voice.

I shook my head. "Not that I know of."

"Ah." He seemed to deflate, making me feel a bit guilty.

"But I have no idea who is in my family tree, anyway, so it's a possibility." I inwardly winced. Why give the guy false hope when I knew damn well I wasn't related to his mother?

I forced the intense guilt down as he nodded. "So...what do you remember? Did you just wake up in the road or what?"

"Um..." I hesitated to tell him. "I woke up in the clearing, and was trying to decide on what to do when I saw you." I suddenly felt a sweep of deja vu come over me, as if I'd experienced this all before...my heart stuttered when I remembered where I'd seen this happening - minus me, that is. The beginning of season four of Supernatural! I glanced at him again. I had started watching season twelve back in my...dimension? _Is that even the right word?_ If I could just stick around, maybe I could change some of the horrible events that were in Dean's future. "So," I rubbed the side of my neck in an attempt to keep myself calm. "Got any siblings?"

Dean smiled. "Yeah. My little brother Sammy." He looked at me. "How about you?"

"I'm the middle kid. Big brother, little sister," I told him, grimacing.

"What's that look for?"

"My siblings are hard to live with," I explained, snorting. "Thank God my brother is out of the house and married! Even has a little boy."

He laughed. "Yeah, siblings can be hard. But they can be your best friends, too."

I 'hmm'-ed at that. "Sure."

Another laugh, then we fell silent. After what felt like forever, we _finally_ reached a town.

Then I realized- "I don't have any money!" I stared at Dean in shock and frustration. "I can't buy anything to eat or drink, and I can't get any clothes!"

"Don't worry. I'll find a payphone and call Bobby. Oh," he stopped next to a payphone outside a gas station. "Bobby's the guy I was telling you about earlier."

I nodded, and watched as he fished a few coins out of his jeans pocket, then dialed a number. "Hey, Bobby, it's me. I-waddya mean, 'me who'? It's Dean! Wh-Bobby? Bobby!" He growled and set the phone back so hard it made me jump. "Senile old man!" he muttered under his breath, then inserted more coins and dialed again. "Bobby, wait-" he gave an aggravated sigh. "Sunovabitch!" He jammed the phone back down. "He hung up on me again!"

"Dean," I said softly, fiddling with my shirt sleeve.

"What?" He was still glaring at the phone, as if it had been the one to hang up on him and not Bobby.

"He thinks you're still dead."

"Yeah, but-" he swung around, eyes narrowed and body tensed. "How the hell would you know that."

"I'm not from here-"

"Yeah, I figured that much out for myself!" he snapped, cutting me off.

I glared at him. " The last thing I remember is falling asleep on my bed, listening to my favorite TV show, Supernatural." At his obviously diminishing anger and growing shock, I continued with, "This all, here? It's a show back in my world."

"Now, hold up!" He breathed deeply. "Our lives are a _TV show_? And what do you mean, _your_ world?!"

I shrugged, sincerely at a loss. "I know about what happened as much as you do. Where I'm from, there are no Hunters, no Men of-oops." I clapped a hand over my mouth, and turned away. _Why am I such a dumbass?_

"What was that?"

"Sorry," I said, my voice muffled by my hand. "Season 8 spoilers. We're at the beginning of Season 4 right now...so I'm not gonna tell you."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, then letting the breath out. "Dammit...This is freakin' weird..."

"You're telling me." I kicked at a rock, watching as it went spinning across the sidewalk. Something wasn't right...I looked around. "Hey, Dean?"

He grunted at me, rubbing at his chin and staring at the ground, thinking.

"Where is everybody?"

He raised his head. "I don't like this..." he muttered, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along behind him inside the gas station.

"HEY!" I squawked indignantly.

He ignore me. "Grab whatever you can," he instructed, shoving a backpack at me, and proceeding to fill another one with water bottles, energy bars, and whatever else he could fit in it. "We need to hit the road. This place is giving me the creeps."

I copied him, stuffing the backpack full of water, Gatorade, and bars. Remembering the episode I'd seen of this, I opened the cash register and stuffed the money into a separate pocket.

"Good thinking," came Dean's voice, startling me.

"Um...thanks."

There was a pause. "Lemme guess, you knew I was going to do that anyway," he said flatly.

"I plead the fifth," I muttered, shutting the register with a small 'click'.

I turned around. He opened his mouth to say something, but high-pitched single noise, like from the original movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still" where the guy was being brought back to life, filled the small gas station along with this super-bright white light that came from above. I clapped my hands over my ears, willing myself not to scream.

After all, it was just Castiel.

But the noise was shifting in my ears, changing into different sounds... I slowly took my hands away from my head, and looked into the light, squinting. I could barely make out a vague shape of what looked like a person. The sounds became words, and I could understand him.

What. The. FUCK?

"My name is Castiel." He sounded a bit frustrated that Dean was still rouched on the floor, hands covering his ears. "I'm not going to hurt you, Dean."

"He doesn't understand you, Castiel." I flinched when the windows exploded. "I think you better tone it down."

The figure turned towards me. "Who are you?"

I raised an eyebrow. _Rude much?_ "My name is Riley. I'm from-"

"Another dimension," Castiel finished for me.

"Yup." I nodded, glancing at Dean. He was staring back at me in shock.

"Tell Dean he will hear from me again, just not so painfully." This time, he sounded a bit amused.

"I will," I promised, smiling at the angel. "See ya!" Then he was gone.

The next thing I heard was Dean, right in my ear. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

I flinched away from him. "Ouch. That was Castiel."

"Who?!" He peered out the blown-out window.

"Castiel. He's an angel."

Dean turned and glowered at me. "There's no such thing."

"How do you know, smart ass?" I shot back. "Are you omniscient?"

He growled wordlessly at me, then grabbed his backpack off the floor. "C'mon, we're getting out of here."

I hefted the pack up on my shoulder, and followed him out the door.

 **xxx**

Before we left, Dean took us on a detour through someone's backyard, and we raided their clothesline. I left my pjs behind, and happily sauntered down the road in jeans, a t-shirt, and a green plaid flannel shirt over that. He even found me some shoes! Nice, comfortable sneakers that felt like heaven to my feet after walking to the town barefoot.

Miraculously, we came upon another town called Sioux Falls. Dean was more animated, asking me questions about my life in the other dimension, and even what the show was like. I explained to him in detail what I knew about the show up until Season 4, and he listened in rapt interest. Apparently, the show was spot-on with the Winchesters' lives.

He stopped talking when we reached "Bobby's Auto and Salvage Yard'. We stood at the end of the driveway, Dean staring nervously at the old house, and me watching Dean. I nudged him.

"Dude, he's not gonna kill you. Just get up there and prove you're really you, and we can get on with our lives."

He shot me a look, but went on up to the house, and knocked on the door. The barrel of a shotgun came poking out.

"Dean's dead."

I poked my head around Dean. "No he's not. He's right here."

Bobby - looking just like Jim Beavers from the show - narrowed his eyes at me and cocked the gun. "Who're you?"

"Name's Riley Campbell," I said, smiling slightly. "Dean and I met on the road, and we walked here together. You're Bobby Singer, surrogate dad to Dean and Sam, and one helluva an awesome Hunter, if I say so myself."

He stared at me. "What in hell..."

"Can we come in? We've been walking all day, and my knees hurt." I flashed him my puppy-eyes (worked on everyone back home, so I was really hoping they would work here too). "Do anything you want to make sure I'm not a shapeshifter, Demon, Vampire, etcetera, but, _please_ , just lemme _sit down_."

Next thing I know, he's throwing holy water in our faces.

"I think I specified that I wanted to be sitting down _before_ you started," I said flatly, wiping the water from my eyes, and fixing Bobby with a cool look.

He said nothing, just handed us a silver blade. With a resigned sigh, I reached out to take it, but Dean grabbed it before I could. I glared at him. He cut a little line in his arm, drawing blood.

"Now his turn," Bobby said gruffly, eyes watching me suspiciously.

"C'mon, Bobby," Dean groaned. "Can't you just take my word that Riley's human?"

"You know he won't, now shush and give me the knife," I said impatiently, holing out my hand.

Dean just frowned, his lips pursing.

"Either you do it, Dean, or I will," Bobby warned him, the shotgun leveled at my chest.

I rolled my eyes. "Dean, just give my wrist a little cut, hm? Maybe then he'll put that gun away."

Dean growled, then swiftly ran the blade over my wrist. I forced myself not to flinch at the sting, and watched as a thin line of blood oozed out of the cut.

"There, Bobby," Dean thrust the knife back at him. "Happy now?"

Bobby let out a relieved breath. "Can't be too careful." He pulled Dean into a tight hug, the happiness radiating from his smile. Then he pushed Dean back, holding him at arm's length. "Boy, this don't make a lick of sense. You were dead! We buried you four months ago!"

Dean sighed. "I can't make much sense of this either, Bobby. One minute, hellhounds are tearing my apart, and the next minute I'm waking up in a pine box."

Choosing not to interrupt their reunion, I scooted past the two men and headed straight for the couch in the living room.

"So, kid."

I looked up at Bobby."Yes?"

"You say your name's Campbell?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir. And before you ask, I have no idea if I'm related to Dean and Sam."

Bobby turned to Dean. "I already asked Riley on the way here."

"Ah," Bobby sighed, and settled into a chair opposite me.

"So, is Sam here?" Dean asked, his eyes traveling over the room.

"Nope. Went off on his own months ago."

Dean stiffened at that. "You're kidding. You just let him go off by himself?"

"He was dead set on it."

"You should've been looking after him, Bobby!"

"I _tried_. These last months haven't been exactly easy, you know. For him or me. We had to bury you."

Dean was quiet for a moment. "Why did you bury me, anyway?"

"I wanted you salted and burned. Usual drill...but Sam wouldn't have it."

"Well I'm glad he won that one."

I snorted, drawing their attention back to me.

"Dean, who is this kid? Is it safe to talk in front of him?"

I stiffened and glowered. "Well, ex- _cuse_ me for living."

Dean's mouth twitched as he fought a smirk. "Riley's fine, Bobby." He blinked, then looked at me intently. "Riley, tell me about Season 4."

My eyes widened. "W-what?"

"I want you to tell me what Sam is doing, where he is, who he's with," Dean pleaded, crouching in front me.

I looked away.

"Please, Riley."

"He a psychic?"

"Er...of a sort," Dean lamely said, his eyes never leaving me, and mine never meeting his.

"Dean," I whined. "I can't tell you. You'd get mad."

"Please?"

I stupidly looked him in the eyes, and caved. _Grrr...stupid Winchester's and their freaking adorable faces!_ "Alright, fine. He's with Ruby."

Dean narrowed his eyes at that. "Ruby's gone. Lilith said so before she sicked her hellhounds on me."

"Yeah, well she came back. And she's stringing Sam along, too." I bit my lip, unsure if I should say more in front of Bobby. I glanced at him. "Um...you're not gonna like what she's having him do..." I trailed off, looking away from Dean again.

"I'll find out from Sam," Dean dismissed it. "Is she using the same meatsuit?"

"No. She's using a Jane Doe whose plug got pulled at the hospital. Brown hair and eyes, pretty. You'll see her when you find Sam."

"How the hell would he know all that?"

Dean looked back at Bobby. "I'll explain it on the way."

"Way to where?" I asked.

Dean faced me again, a determined look in his eyes. "We're going to bring my stupid brother home."

 **XXX**

 **Hey, guys! Hope you like the new fic! I'm just sitting here, waiting for my friend to get off work (I'm her ride home) and this just...happened. Lemme know if you have any ideas! Below is a link to what Riley looks like (he's half Asian). If the link doesn't work, lemme know.**

 **Reviews feed my muse.**

 **Eli**

 **Riley Campbell: . /search/images;_ylt=AwrB8o6w6CtYYj4AqmuJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsZ29xY3ZzBHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEc2xrA2J1dHRvbg-;_ylc=X1MDOTYwNjI4NTcEX3IDMgRiY2sDMDNrdmt1bGJzdXU5aCUyNmIlM0Q0JTI2ZCUzRHBPUk55QkZwWUVJYzRpaFdLTlhXa2pYNUJTeXRnM3duVUZlZUNRLS0lMjZzJTNEMWolMjZpJTNEU3hnOGhpaUNwNGxtNjFhR1B1VTAEZnIDbWNhZmVlBGdwcmlkA2l4S3V3cUFKUW9tMUJIbnN3OHZ2aUEEbXRlc3RpZANVSTAxJTNEQjMwMzIEbl9zdWdnAzEwBG9yaWdpbgNpbWFnZXMuc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMARwcXN0cgMEcHFzdHJsAwRxc3RybAMxMARxdWVyeQNBc2lhbiBib3lzBHRfc3RtcAMxNDc5Mjc5ODc5BHZ0ZXN0aWQDQjMwMzI-?gprid=ixKuwqAJQom1BHnsw8vviA &pvid=mYEX3zY5LjEB0_T1V895MQLKNzQuMQAAAAD_UmQC&p=Asian+boys&fr=mcafee&fr2= . &ei=UTF-8&n=60&x=wrt#id=2&iurl=http%3A%2F% .com%2Fimage%2Fphotos%2F12700000% &action=click**


	2. Chapter 2

I just knew, as Dean knocked on the motel room door, that I shouldn't have opened my big mouth and told them what I knew.

On the way to drag Sam away from Ruby, Dean had managed to weasel more info out of me. (Him and his stupid eyes…I swear.) He got so mad, his hands were shaking as he drove the rental car. I sat in the backseat, gazing out the window, not really watching as the scenery went by. Then we were there, and he was pulling into a parking spot in front of the motel.

"Does this mean he's sleeping with her?"

I cringed at the disgust and sorrow in Dean's voice. "Um… Do you really want me to answer that?"

He and Bobby exchanged a look, then got out of the car, going inside the motel. I followed close behind, wondering how differently the scene would play out now that they had all the facts about the situation between Sam and Ruby.

The door opened, and Ruby looked at us in confusion. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" Dean quickly raked his angry gaze over her, barely concealing the hatred he felt for the demon in front of him.

"The pizza that apparently takes three guys to deliver?"

I narrowed my eyes at her sarcasm.

"Hey, hon? Is that the pizza guy?" Came Sam's voice from the bathroom. He walked out, barely dressed, and halted in his tracks at the sight of Dean. His eyes went wide in shock and disbelief. "Dean?"

"Hey, Sammy." Dean's voice was soft.

Knowing what was going to happen next, I stepped between them, holding my bandaged wrist up. "He's the real deal, man. Bobby made sure of that with both of us."

Sam's gaze flickered towards me, then went right back to Dean. "How…who…" he struggled to speak, his voice thick with tears.

"No idea, Sam," Dean shrugged, lying effortlessly. "Just woke up and headed to Bobby's." I felt Dean's hand rest on my shoulder. "Made a new friend, too."

Sam gave a choked laugh, reaching around me to hug his brother in a suffocating bear hug. I smiled at the sight, choosing to ignore Dean's pained smile as he mouthed for me to help him before he passed out.

Brotherly love…such a beautiful thing, right?

Then Sam held Dean at arm's length, not able to quit smiling.

"So…uh, are you two, like…" Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Together?"

Dean turned and gave her a weird look.

"What?" Sam blinked a couple times, glancing back and forth between her and Dean. "No, _no_. He's my brother."

Ruby gave funny little jerky nod. "O-ooooh…"

"Cut the crap, you two," Bobby snapped. "We know who she really is."

Sam stiffened slightly. "What do you mean by that?" He and Ruby glanced at each other.

"That's Ruby," I said, pointing at the dark-haired beauty. "And Dean knows what you two have been up to."

"And how is it possible that he's up to speed on what I have and haven't been doing? He hasn't been back that long." Sam was glaring at me.

I shrank back behind Dean, who glared at Sam for scaring me. "Stop it, Sam. Riley told me you've been drinking demon blood to defeat Lilith, when in actuality, Ruby is manipulating you so you'll _free_ Lucifer by killing Lilith."

Ruby panicked, gabbing her jeans and stuffing her legs into them. Sam whirled on her.

"Is that true? You…want Lucifer freed?"

Ruby glowered at me, then Sam. "He's my father, Sam!"

"He's the devil," I muttered, looking away when she flashed her black eyes at me.

"Don't insult my Creator," she hissed.

"God is your Creator," I snapped back. "Lucifer just twisted you until your soul was no longer recognizable. How blind can you be?"

She hissed wordlessly, then bolted from the room. Sam tried to go after her, but Dean caught his arm, holding him there.

"Let her go," Dean said, shaking his head. "It's not like she'll come back."

Sam stared at him, a myriad of emotions on his face. "I…feel a bit sick…" Dean let go of Sam, the younger brother sinking down on the bed. "This is all going so fast…I don't really understand what just happened."

Dean snorted. "Riley saved you from making a stupid-ass mistake, that's what happened."

"And who is Riley anyway, Dean?" Sam's gaze locked on me.

 _So this is what feels like under a microscope._

"Dude, stop it. You're freaking him out," Dean reprimanded, lightly smacking Sam's shoulder with an open palm.

Sam stared at Dean. " _I'm_ freaking _him_ out? Where'd he even come from? I don't remember knowing any Rileys!"

"My name's Riley Campbell," I told him, sighing loudly. After settling myself cross-legged on the floor, I continued. "I'm from another dimension. I woke up by a road, and Dean found me there after coming back from hell. We went to Bobby's together, then came here to get you. Need I say more?"

Sam's jaw dropped. "C-Campbell?"

"I don't know if I'm related to you guys, so don't ask," I growled, turning my face away.

"Dean…is he staying?"

Dean didn't like that question, if I judged his sudden scowl right. "Waddya mean, 'is he staying'? Of course he's staying with us! We're the only ones that can find out how to send him back home! And, changing the subject, how could you?"

"How could I what?"

"You know what."

Sam cocked his head to the side, looking very much confused. "Dude, what the hell are you talking about?"

Dean was pissed. "I'm talking about the demon blood, Sam! How could you… _ingest_ that foul stuff? Especially after Azazel?"

Sam tensed and glanced at me. "Dean— "

"Save it! I'm _not_ sending Riley from the room. He's the only reason I even have a _fucking clue_ about what you've been doing the past four months!" Dean's voice got so loud, I had to cover my ears. He jabbed a finger in my direction. "Thank God he told me, otherwise you would've done some pretty serious shit that none of us could've reversed!"

No longer angry, nor confused, Sam was shaken at Dean's words. "How would he know any of that?"

Even Bobby was looking at me warily.

I merely ducked my head, letting my bangs cover my eyes so I wouldn't have to see them staring at me. My face burned from the attention.

Dean's gentle hand on my shoulder startled me, and I stared up at him, my bangs still in my face. "Dude, you ok?"

I nodded, unable to speak.

"So…is he psychic?" Sam seemed to perk at the idea.

Dean grimaced. "Not really…at least, not that I know of," he backpedaled when Sam's face fell.

"I might as well tell them, Dean," I said softly.

He patted my shoulder comfortingly. "Alright."

I took in a deep breath. "I'm from another dimension, as I already said. Where I'm from, all of this is a TV show called Supernatural. I have no idea how I wound up here, and I'd really like to get back home."

Sam and Bobby stared at me as if I were crazy. Sam was the first to speak.

"So you know all this because of the show."

"The show is up to season 12 in my world." I shrugged.

"12?" Bobby glanced at Dean, whose face tightened. "Where exactly in these…seasons, are we right now?"

"Beginning of the fourth season, where Dean is pulled out of hell." I smiled at Dean. "That was my favorite episode."

Sam turned to Dean. "And how did you get out?"

Dean looked at me, and I said, "Castiel pulled him out."

"Who's Castiel?" Sam and Bobby asked together.

"He's a seraph." I smirked at their confused looks. "As in, angel? From heaven? Wings, grace, all that stuff."

Sam's expression changed to one of wonder. Bobby shook his head, frowning in disbelief.

"It's true," Dean said firmly. He dared them to object to it with a challenging look. "Dude blew past us at a gas station, nearly knocking me out. Riley here talked to him. I heard it."

Now Sam's awestruck gaze was on _me. Lovely_. I squirmed in discomfort.

"I-it wasn't that big of a deal. I couldn't take his true voice at first, either."

"Back to the previous subject," Sam interjected. He pinned me with a serious look. "This TV show is how you knew about my… _dealings_ …with Ruby?"

I gave him a cool look. "Of course. Which was stupid on your part. How could you trust one of those abominations?"

"What she said seemed to make sense…" he muttered quietly, rubbing at his jaw.

"Because demons are masters at manipulation." I folded my arms and leaned against the wall, thoroughly exhausted. "Can I take a nap or something? I'm tired."

"It ok if we go back to your house, Bobby?" Dean looked questioningly at Bobby.

Sam gave Dean an odd look as Bobby slowly nodded. "I guess so…" Then he pointed at me. "But I want to hear more about what happens later in that…show. Got it?"

I mock saluted him. "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Idjit," he grunted.

XXX

When I woke up a few hours later, it was pitch black outside. I stretched under the covers, yawning, and looked around with blurry vision. Once my glasses were again situated on my face, I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen for a snack. I froze in the doorway when I saw Sam was already there. He'd apparently had the same idea.

He turned his head. "Oh. Hi, Riley. Can't sleep?"

"No, I, um…" I swallowed hard. "I got h-hungry." As casually as possible, I walked past him sitting at the table, and searched for something I could eat fast. I don't know why, but being alone with Sam made me uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry about how I acted earlier," he apologized softly.

I whirled and stared at him in shock. "W-what are you talking about?"

"I was kind of mean to you, and I'm sorry. It's just that seeing Dean alive again was a really big shock, and I didn't handle it very well with a newcomer there as well." He gave me a wry smile. "It didn't help that you'd spilled all my secrets beforehand, but I'm over it now. So I apologize."

"It's fine. Really, Sam, don't worry about it."

He shook his head. "No, it's not fine."

"What's not fine?"

Dean was leaning against the doorjamb, watching us both.

"Nothing," Sam and I said simultaneously.

Dean raised his eyebrows at me. My face burned, and I turned away to reach for a box of cereal on the high shelf in the cupboard. It was too high, so I got on tip-toe and strained harder to reach it, but my fingers were still barely brushing against it. Then I felt somebody come up behind me, and saw a hand reaching and grabbing the cereal for me.

"Here," Dean said, dropping the box into my hands. His hands were on my shoulders. "Next time, ask for help."

I turned and looked up at him. _Holy crow…his eyes are so green_ …unlike mine, which were a mix of practically every color under the sun.

Sam gave a choked cough. "And I'm outta here."

I barely heard him, what with Dean so near. He leaned closer, his hands going to rest on the countertop, trapping me. My heart skipped a beat, and I licked my lips nervously. _What is he doing? Did I do something wrong? Is he mad?_

He looked into my eyes for a bit, then groaned and let his forehead drop on my right shoulder. I stiffened in surprise.

"Dean?" I said in a small voice. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to control myself," he said, turning his head.

I could feel his light breath on my neck, and I involuntarily shivered. "C-control yourself?"

He lifted his head up. "Never mind. Sorry I did that." He backed away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I stared at him, the cereal box slipping from my fingers and landing on the floor at my feet. I stooped to pick it up. "Um…thanks for getting this down for me."

"I'll get the milk for you," he said. He opened the fridge and reached inside.

I shuffled over to the table and sat down. "Oh!" I popped up again. "I forgot a bowl and "

Dean set down the milk, a bowl, and a spoon. "Here."

I looked up at him, smiling gratefully. "Thanks, Dean. My mom always said I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on."

He smiled back. "Really? Sounds like Sam when he was younger."

I snickered, and poured some cereal into the bowl, then milk. After the first bite, I realized just how hungry I was, and scarfed down the whole bowl in under five minutes, then refilled the bowl.

"If you want, we could go out for breakfast tomorrow."

I glanced at Dean. His voice sounded a bit unsure. "That sounds like fun."

He acted casual, merely nodding his head. But I could see how his eyes lit up at that.

"You want it just us?"

I paused, spoon half-way to my mouth. "Um…that would be preferable, yes." Putting the spoon back in the bowl, I glanced at the doorway, then leaned closer to Dean. "Sam makes me uncomfortable, and I don't think Bobby really likes me."

Dean cocked his head, frowning. "You don't like Sam?"

"No, I like him fine. It's just…" I struggled for words. "There's something…off about him. I can't put my finger on it."

He pursed his lips slightly, thinking. "Alright. We'll just bring back something for them." He smirked. "You'll feel better after you get to know them. Sam and Bobby make awesome friends, Riley. I swear."

He winked, and I couldn't help the giggle. "I believe you."

"Did you seriously just giggle?"

I ducked my head, refusing to meet his eyes. "No."

There was a beat of silence. Then his low chuckling filled my ears. I peeked at him, and was instantly on-guard at the wicked look in his eyes.

"You're such a terrible liar," he teased. "I think you're even worse than Sammy."

"It's Sam, jerk!"

"Stop eavesdropping, bitch!" Dean called back, not looking away from me.

"Go flirt with Riley elsewhere!"

My eyes about popped out of my head at that. "He-I-you-whaaaaaat?"

Dean glowered at Sam, who was now standing in the doorway, smirking. "What did you say that for?"

"If you were any more obvious, you'd be on one knee."

I stared at Sam. _What the hell is he saying?_

"Dude," Dean snapped. "Shut up and go away. Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Yes, daddy," Sam said sarcastically. We listened as he went up the stairs, his bedroom door shutting behind him.

"Um…" I looked down at my half-eaten bowl of cereal, my appetite no longer there. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed." Pushing the bowl away, I stood up and headed for the stairs.

"We still on for tomorrow?"

I turned my head. "Why wouldn't we be?"

Dean shook his head. "Just making sure."

I looked at him, but he didn't say anything else. "Well, then…good night, Dean."

"Night, Riley," He smiled.

I went back to my room, still feeling a bit confused about what all had transpired downstairs, but opted for shoving it to the back of my mind for now. Exhaustion dragged me back down into a deep sleep where I dreamed about angels and demons, and in the center of it all, Dean.

XXX

"I don't eat meat."

Dean froze, menu still in hand. He stared at me as if I had grown a second head. "You what now?"

I focused on my fidgeting fingers. "I'm vegetarian. I don't eat meat."

"No bacon?"

I shook my head.

"Sausage?"

I raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Not even burgers?"

I huffed a laugh. "No."

"Man," he groaned, shaking his head. "You are missing out on some awesome food by cutting out meat."

"I eat tofu."

He made a horrified face. "Ugh!"

"It's really good in a hotpot." I snickered when he shuddered. "Don't worry. You only have to try it once. I swear."

"There is no way you are getting me to try that," he told me flatly, folding his arms defiantly.

I fixed him with a cool gaze. "Challenging me is a bad idea."

He grimaced and looked away. "So, I take it you're not getting the Farmer's Omelet."

"That would be a correct assumption," I affirmed, struggling to keep back the grin. My gaze slid back down to the breakfast menu in my hands. "That omelet has ham in it. I didn't like ham, even when I did eat meat."

"How long have you been a vegetarian?" He asked casually.

I glanced at him over the top of my menu. His eyes were glued to his own menu, but I got the feeling he was watching me. "Going on seven years."

His brow furrowed, and he set the menu down on the table. "How old _are_ you?"

I cocked my head, feeling a bit bemused. "I'm twenty-three. Why?"

"Just one more question. What's your birthdate?" The look on his face was weird, as if he was feeling sick.

"November 5, 1993. _Why_?" I frowned at him for not answering my earlier 'why'.

He closed his eyes, hands rubbing his face. "Damn…fourteen is robbing the cradle…" he muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Irritation bubbled up in my chest.

"My birthdate is January 12, 1979."

I was puzzled at his flat tone. "Um, yeah, I already know that. So?" I went back to perusing the menu, but that was cut short when he shoved it down on the table top. "Hey!"

He ignored my complaint. "You can't possibly be 23. There's no way, not when it's only 2008."

 _That_ grabbed my attention finally. I about choked on my breath. "2008?" My voice was slightly high-pitched. "B-but it was 2016! How the hell did I go eight years into the past?"

"That's what I wanna know," Dean grumbled, drumming his fingers agitatedly on the tabletop.

My body was going into panic mode—seriously not good since I didn't have my anxiety meds on me. I bit my lip and screwed my eyes shut, focusing on breathing in and out slowly to calm myself down. It worked a bit, but I was still reeling from the shock of it all.

Seriously…I'd turned _fifteen_ back in 2008!

"Hey, _hey_ ," Dean's gentle voice came sinking through the panic clouding up my brain. "It's nothing to get upset about. It just means you would've been born in…um…1985, I think. At least, you would've in this timeline."

I swallowed against the growing lump in my throat. "Y-yeah, you're right. It would've been 1985." _That's when my parents got married..._ I opened my eyes, managing a weak smile.

Dean was still concerned. "You holding up alright there?"

I took in a deep breath, then slowly blew it out. "I…I'll be fine." Another smile. "Promise. I'm not gonna pass out or anything. It was just kind of a shock, but I'm ok now."

He opened his mouth to say something, but someone cut him off.

"Dean!"

He looked over my shoulder and frowned. "For the love of…" He groaned softly. "I didn't even tell him where we were going!"

My body tensed as Sam appeared next to our table, frowning down at Dean.

"Waddya want?" Dean sighed, rubbing the side of his head. "Can't you see we're out for breakfast?"

Sam glanced at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes that I did not like. "Yeah, sorry to interrupt your little _date_ —"

"We're not on a date!" Dean snapped.

"—but Bobby wants to contact this Castiel and find out what he rescued you for." Sam finished as if Dean hadn't even spoken. He looked at me imploringly. "Riley, you of all people know how important it is that we understand what's going on. Talk to him."

I raised an eyebrow at Sam. "And why should he listen to me? I only joined the group a day and a half ago."

"You two seem to be pretty close for only having known each other a day and a half," Sam said, smirking knowingly at Dean, the way little siblings do.

Dean's face went pink, and he scowled at Sam. "Will you go back and tell Bobby I'll handle it? It's not like the angel is gonna do anything before I get back."

"Which "angel" are you talking about?" Sam inquired not-so-innocently, his eyes sliding to me.

I'm positive my face was beet-red. _Why, oh, why do they have to act like this?_

"Drop it, Sam," Dean snapped. He cleared his throat, then attempted to smile at me, while ignoring Sam, who was still standing there watching us. "You decided yet?"

It took a couple of tries for my voice to work. "Er…I think I'll go with the veggie omelet."

Dean waved at a waitress, then addressed Sam. "You gonna keep hanging over us like a vulture, or you gonna get your ass back to Bobby's and stay there?"

Sam chuckled. "I'll see you at Bobby's." He nodded at me, then exited the restaurant.

I buried my face into my hands. "That was humiliating," I moaned into my hands, my voice muffled.

"Ignore him," Dean said gruffly. "He likes to stir up trouble."

I peeked at Dean through my fingers. He was already looking at me, and our gazes locked. We could barely look away from each other, even when the waitress asked us what we'd like to order.

 _He doesn't have to stir up trouble where trouble already is…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, everyone! I am currently working on chapter four, so I thought I'd go ahead and post this one for ya. ^_^ It's not easy writing fanfics for me right now, due to my poor health and busy schedule, but I promise I will keep at this story. It might take me a while to update, but I'm not giving up on it.**

 **I swear.**

 **Remember, reviews and follows feed my muse (when he doesn't take a friggin vacation, that is. Lol~)**

 **Allonsy!**

 **Eli**

"I sincerely doubt you're gonna need all that," I said disapprovingly, leaning against the barn wall, and watched as Dean and Bobby readied their weapons. "Castiel is one of the good guys."

"It's just for protection, Riley. Gotta make sure any others that might come with him aren't secretly evil," Dean told me with a quick wink.

I looked away, but not before my face warmed.

"Idjit," Bobby grumbled, shaking his head and shooting Dean a _quit it_ look.

Dean held his hands up. "What'd I do?"

"Quit flirting, boy."

"Do you want me to pray now?" I ignored Dean's scowl aimed at Bobby, and hopped up on a worktable, letting my legs swing gently. "Or do you want to keep acting like a lecherous chicken?" I flashed Dean a cheeky smile when he shot me an irritated look.

"Very funny, Riley."

I stuck my tongue out at him. He huffed at me, and went back to checking his guns. I gazed around the barn, finding the darkness behind the lantern's light to be comforting. I'd always liked the dark.

 _Is this the real life?_

 _Is this just fantasy?_

 _Caught in a landslide,_

 _No escape from reality._

 _Open your eyes,_

 _Look up to the skies and see,_

 _I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy_

 _Because I'm easy come, easy go_

 _Little high, little low_

 _Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me_

"What are you singing for?"

I jerked my gaze up from the dusty floor. "Huh?"

Dean was looking at me, perplexed. "What are you singing Bohemian Rhapsody for?"

"What's wrong with it?" I shot back, frowning.

"Queen is kinda before your time, isn't it?"

"Four years before yours, too, Dean."

We grimaced at each other, neither willing to take the argumentative conversation further.

"Cut it out, you two," Bobby sighed, rolling his eyes at us. "Go ahead and pray to Castiel, Riley."

I bowed my head. _Hey, Castiel? This is Riley. I was with Dean at the gas station when you were trying to talk to him. I think you should remember me. Anyway, Dean and Bobby want to talk to you. We're in this big barn, just outside of Sioux Falls. We'll be waiting._ I raised my head. "He should've heard that. Now we just gotta wait…" The wind started blowing hard, and the lights flickered on and off. "But I don't think much longer."

The big doors at the other end of the barn flew open, crashing into the walls. Dean and Bobby raised their guns, eyes trained on the blackness outside the open door.

And in walked Castiel.

As I remembered from the show, he was wearing the dark suit, blue tie, and the famous tan trenchcoat. I bit my lower lip to keep from smirking. The coat was a tad bit too big on him. _Hee-hee…_

"You're Castiel?" Dean's voice was a mix wariness, wonder, and a bit of disbelief.

Castiel tilted his head. "Yes, I am."

Dean looked him over. "You're supposed to be an angel?" He barked a laugh. "Gimme a break."

"Dean!"

Dean flinched at my reprimanding tone. He turned and frowned at me. "What, Riley?"

I glowered at him. "Be more respectful! He can throw you back into Hell any time he feels like it!"

Castiel's blue eyes were trained on me, amused.

Dean gave a long-suffering sigh. "Fine."

"Riley is correct, Dean." Castiel stepped closer, though he gave a quick glance at me before focusing intently on Dean. "I am the one who gripped you tight and raised you from Perdition."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Dean set his gun down on the table next to me, quirking an eyebrow at me. "But why?"

"I was ordered to."

Dean glanced at me. I smiled and nodded. "Again, why?"

Castiel glanced at me, too. "Because, we have work for you, Dean Winchester."

XXX

Sam's left leg kept jiggling. "What kind of work?"

"Not really sure. Just said they had work, and we'd talk more later. Apparently they were calling him back to Heaven."

Sam just looked at Dean.

"What?" Dean frowned into his beer. "I'm _not_ gonna give an Angel of the Lord the third degree."

"Dean, I didn't say that," Sam groaned, rubbing his temples. His hands looked like they were shaking.

"Sam, are you okay?" I asked, concerned, touching his shoulder.

He nodded at first, then sighed and shook his head. "Not really, no." He hugged himself around his middle, jiggling both legs now.

Then it hit me. "Oh, my gosh. Cravings?"

"Probably…" he trailed off reluctantly.

"Dude, why didn't you say something?" Dean was exasperated. He stood up and went into the kitchen. "Is there anything you need, er, want?"

"My body is craving the one thing it can't have," Sam moaned, hunching over. "Ugh…" he looked up, our eyes connecting. His face was a pasty white, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on his skin. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Get a bucket, Dean!" I yelled, kneeling next to Sam to rub his back. "It's okay, Sam. We won't leave you while you're ill. It's gonna be okay."

"For a guy, you're very maternal," Dean remarked, setting the bucket on the floor between Sam's feet.

I made a face. "Not the time, Dean."

He just grinned. The grin vanished as Sam began heaving into the bucket. "Hey, man, just take deep breaths. Deep breaths, that's it. Let it run its course."

"He's going through withdrawal symptoms," I mumbled as Dean shot me a questioning look.

"What, like a junkie?"

"If Ruby had kept her hooks in him longer, it would've been worse." I shook my head. "In one episode, his eyes turned black when he was exorcising a demon. We should be grateful that won't happen now."

Dean looked thoroughly horrified at that. His expression morphed into one of concern and brotherly tenderness as Sam threw up into the bucket, and couldn't stop for a short while.

"It's okay, Sam," I said softly, still rubbing his back. "It's okay."

"D-Dean…"

"Shh, Sam. I'm right here."

"I'm sorry about the blood…" Sam drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "If I'd have…just thought harder about it, I would've realized…I _should've_ realized…"

"Dude, don't worry about it now. Ruby's gone, and you're gonna be okay." Dean sounded more confident than he looked. He squeezed his brother's shoulder gently. "Now stop talking. No chick flick moments."

I snorted. Dean gave me a half-smile. Sam let out a small, shaky laugh.

"Think Castiel could help us out here?" Dean jerked his head towards Sam.

I pursed my lips. _Should I tell him? Or should I give Castiel the benefit of the doubt since my coming here has changed so much already?_ I gave a small nod. "You can ask, but I'm not certain. Just pray to him."

Dean had an odd look. "Why can't you do it?"

"Dean! _You're_ the one he rescued!"

"You can understand his true voice," Dean countered, wiping the sweat off Sam's forehead.

"So? I was only able to talk to him in the first place because he rescued _you_. And _he_ was only able to rescue _you_ because you sacrificed yourself for your _brother_. So _you_ pray to him, Dean." I made a face at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He cleared his throat a couple times. "Okay…Castiel who art in heaven-" that got snorts from both Sam and me "-shut up you two-we humbly ask that you get your feathery ass down here, as we have a small problem that you might be able to fix. Erm…amen." Dean looked around. "Yeah. I don't see him. Told you, Riley. You should've-"

"Hello, Dean."

Dean made a surprised noise in his throat, falling back onto his butt. I threw my head back and laughed so hard, I fell over, too. Sam, still in the chair, was chuckling lightly, grinning stupidly down at Dean.

"Dude, he totally scared you."

Dean glowered at us both. "He did not scare me. Caught me off-guard, maybe—"

I cut him off with, "Just admit you were a little scared."

He growled wordlessly at me.

I snickered, then smiled at a confused Castiel. "Sorry."

"What is it that you require, Dean?"

"My brother," Dean said, standing and placing a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam looked like he was getting close to puking again. "He's not well…we were just wondering if you could help him? Even the littlest bit of relief would work, if you can."

"What's wrong with him?" Castiel came closer, scrutinizing Sam.

"Demon blood withdrawal," I said, rushing to comfort Sam as he began heaving again. "It's okay, Sam."

"I might be able to help," Castiel said thoughtfully to himself. He reached out and pressed two fingers to Sam's head. "I can take away the illness part, and most of the symptoms." He gave Sam a hard look. "But as for the craving part? Only God Himself could take that completely away. I _might_ be able to do more later, after discussing it with my brothers and sisters."

"Thanks, Cass," Dean choked out, giving Sam a one-armed hug.

I backed away, beaming at the sight. Sam had color back in his face, and was breathing normally. All that was left of the physical signs were his fidgety hands.

Castiel tilted his head in that dang adorable way of his. "Cass?"

"Yeah, sorry," Dean huffed a laugh. "But that name of yours is a mouthful. You don't mind the nickname, right?"

"No…I suppose not." He smiled, then turned to me. "My brother, Michael, wants me to give you a message. Do you mind if we go somewhere private?"

I licked my lips nervously. "If it's the same to you, I'd prefer Dean and Sam were here, too. They've been helping me ever since I got here."

Castiel nodded. "It's your decision." His expression was serious. "Nobody in Heaven knows how you got here. But Michael is working on finding a way back for you. Whether you actually go back to your own dimension or not is entirely up to you. You have the right to refuse, and stay here. You won't be forced into a decision."

I gaped at him. "You mean…I can stay here if I want to?"

Dean and Sam exchanged a look.

" _Do_ you want to?" Castiel asked.

"Um…" I rubbed the bridge of my nose, unsure. "I'm not really certain what I want to do right now…"

"That's alright, Riley. You think about it, then pray to me with your answer." He inclined his head at the boys. "Let me know if he gets bad again, and I'll come right away."

There was a flapping sound as he vanished.

"If they do find a way to send you back, you think you'll go?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, Sam. I kinda like it here." Then I looked down at the clothes I was wearing, and made a face. "Though I'm gonna need a wardrobe that actually fits me."

"That's easy to fix," Dean said.

"I think a couple cards are still working," Sam mused, gently pushing himself up out of the chair. "Ugh…the taste in my mouth is terrible."

I muffled the snicker with my hand.

Sam shot me a look. "What?"

"It's not like angels can heal the taste out of your mouth. That's what mouthwash is for."

Dean threw his head back and practically roared with laughter.

Sam scowled, though I could see his lips twitching as he fought a smile. "Shut up, jerk."

"Make me, bitch."

"Knock it off, you ignoramuses."

That sent them both cackling. We were still laughing when Bobby came back, fresh from a grocery run.

"What in the name of all that's holy are you idjits cackling like hens about?"

We laughed so hard, we had tears in our eyes. Without thinking, I yanked both brothers close into a group hug, smiling so wide it felt like my face might split in two.

"I'm so glad I'm with you guys."

Sam's eyes turned hopeful. "Does that mean you'll stay?"

I cocked my head. "Do you really want me to stay?"

"Of course!" He looked at Dean. "Dean?"

Dean had his thinking expression. He gave a sharp nod. "We've got plenty of room for one more."

I gave a happy cry, and tackled Dean to the floor in a tight hug. The air was forced from his lungs as his back hit the floor.

"Dude…you trying to suffocate me?" He joked, but I could hear the strain in his voice from my weight on his lungs.

Sam laughed from behind me. "Aw, c'mon, Dean. You know you like it."

"Shut up, Sammy."

"It's Sam."

"Whatever you say, _Sammy_."

Sam groaned. "You're never gonna stop, are you."

I rolled off Dean, giggling. "I hope that's rhetorical."

Sam just gave a long suffering sigh as Dean and I chuckled.

Poor Bobby was confused and annoyed. He shook his head, and went to put the food away, muttering something about "idjits" under his breath.

XXX

I couldn't help it—I glared as Dean hit on the pretty girl behind the fast-food counter. What was he thinking? We had to find Lilith and kill her, and him trying to sleep with some girl wasn't going to help.

I gaped as he turned and slyly winked then smirked at me. He turned back to the girl, chatting her up again. I fumed.

 _Stupid green-eyed bastard!_

I stood up fast enough that my chair fell backwards behind me. The noise drew the attention of nearly everyone else there. Acting as if I didn't care, I lifted my chin and sauntered out the door. If that was how he wanted it, two could play at that game.

I studied the guys and girls standing around outside. Since I was a trans guy, Sam and Dean would probably expect me to chat up a girl. But I'd always liked guys, so I made a beeline for the two guys hanging at the corner of Mickey D's. One was smoking, and the other was texting on his phone. The texter had an LGBT patch on his jacket sleeve.

I smirked inwardly to myself. This was gonna be fun!

I moved closer, and settled myself on the sidewalk, taking the book Sam recently gave me out of my messenger bag: Luna, by Julie Anne Peters.

"You part of the community?"

I looked up. It was the guy that had been texting. I smiled at him as he settled on the sidewalk next to me, peering closely at the cover of the book. _Hmmm…he has pretty brown eyes…_

"Yup. Trans guy. You?"

"Gay," he said simply, giving me a crooked smile. "You're an adorable guy."

Pleasantly embarrassed, I looked down at the book. "N-no I'm not."

He chuckled lightly. "I oughta know what I'm talking about. I see your uniqueness, and I say you're adorable."

I smiled. "Well then, thank you." Angling my body toward him, I noticed Dean and Sam still inside Micky D's. They were watching us. Rather, Sam was grinning evilly at Dean who was _glowering_ at us. I ignored them. "My name's Riley Campbell."

"Sean Madigan." He had an easy smile, and shook my hand.

"Irish?"

"Half. My mom is German." He grimaced good-naturedly. "My middle name is horrible."

"Aw, it can't be that bad."

"You don't know what it is."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Try me."

"Adolf."

"Adolf?"

"Yup."

I just stared at him in shock. The shock was draining away and quickly being replaced with the need to laugh. Seriously, what parent would have their child's middle name honor of one of history's villain's?

Sean rolled his eyes. "I know you want to laugh."

I tried to muffle it, but a snort managed to escape my hands covering my face. "I'm so sorry….But…. _Adolf_?"

We tried, we really did. But the little glances, and the obvious way we were fighting back the laughter did us in.

Some high-pitched, girly giggling caught our attention, and we looked over to the parking lot. Dean had cornered another girl, a blonde this time, against the Impala. He murmured something in her ear, and she covered her mouth, obviously laughing.

The smile melted off my face.

"Are you okay, Riley?" Sean was concerned.

"My cousin is making an ass of himself. Again," I said, a little bitter. It wasn't that long ago he had _me_ trapped against the counter in Bobby's kitchen. _But the blonde gets to lean against Baby? That's a new low, even for you, Dean._ "Hey, you wanna be text buddies?" I asked brightly, turning to smile warmly at Sean. "Maybe we can see a movie next time I'm in town."

Sean's face lit up. "Sure! I'd like that. Here, I'll put my info in your phone."

I handed him the phone Sam had chucked at me that morning, shortly before we left Bobby's house. Sean whistled when he got into my contacts.

"You only have three numbers in here." He looked at me questioningly.

"I'm not very social." I shrugged.

"Okay, you have my number," he said, handing me back my phone, then holding out his own.

I took it and entered my own phone number and info. After getting the phone, and being allowed on Sam's laptop, I had re-registered my e-mail, You Tube, Myspace, and Facebook accounts, same passwords and everything. Now Sean had all that info.

"There you go," I said with a wink. "Be sure and text me, hm?"

"As long as you text back," he laughed.

"Definitely."

He held out his fist for me to bump my own fist against. We smiled again, then parted ways, me towards the Impala and him towards his smoker friend.

I felt pretty good. I'd only been in this world a little while, and here I was making my first friend outside of the family! I settled in the backseat, humming to myself as Sam got in the front seat. He looked back at me.

"What are you humming?"

"Eye of the Tiger," I said absentmindedly. The good feeling was shrinking as I watched Dean flirt with the dumb blonde. I glowered out the window at them as he kissed her cheek, then walked back to the Impala. She giggled and waved at him, then went back inside.

"Dean, what was that all about?" Sam asked, exasperated. He shot Dean a look I couldn't read, then glanced at me.

I was confused.

So was Dean. "What are you talking about?"

"That little show back there. Who were you performing for?"

"Aw, shut up, Sammy." Dean growled, putting the key in the ignition and starting up Baby.

 _Aw…I get it now_. I folded my arms and looked out the window, refusing to meet Dean's gaze in the rearview.

"And that girl, Dean. She sounded like a friggin chipmunk!"

I pressed my lips together. _I will not laugh, I will not laugh…_

"Doesn't matter, Sammy. What matters is—"

"Please don't."

"—how good she—"

"Dean, stop it."

"—is in—"

"DEAN."

"—bed."

I turned my head and glared at him in the rearview. "SHUT. UP."

He blinked. "What did I do?"

"You talk too much, is what you do." Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Might wanna be quiet the rest of the way to the motel if you don't want a certain person in the backseat to murder you."

Fortunately for Dean, he did as Sam said, and stayed silent the rest of the way.

XXX

"What the hell is he trying to do?" I yelled, slamming the door to the motel room shut. "Scar me for life? Like I wanna hear about girls in bed!"

Sam's quiet chuckling had me swiveling my head to glare at him.

"What's so funny?"

"Dude, he's trying to make you jealous."

For some reason, the lyrics to "Touchdown, Turnaround" started going through my mind right then…

 _Little League in '93 taught me how to take defeat_

 _Good thing there's no mercy rule in love 'cause I would long be beat._

 _Hit the ground, look around, but you're nowhere to be found_

 _Accept my loss and head back to the mound_

WTH?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sam," I said lowly, gritting my teeth and clenching my fists. "Dean doesn't feel that way about me. He likes girls."

"So? You're kinda a feminine boy."

I glared. "I am _not_."

Sam rolled his eyes. He smirked as he sat on one of the beds. "Fine, but you can't deny that you like _him_."

"What?" I squawked.

"Yeah, and you still haven't denied it."

I whirled on Dean. "How long have you been standing there?!"

His expression was unreadable as he shut the door quietly behind him. "Long enough." He glanced at his brother. "You mind, Sam?"

Without a word, Sam high-tailed it to the bathroom. The shower turned on full-blast to drown out our conversation.

I flopped on the other bed and turned away from Dean. "I don't wanna talk to you."

"I know you don't, but we need to talk. Otherwise Sam will sit on us till we do." He chuckled.

I glared over my shoulder at him. "Then talk."

"I'm sorry about earlier."

"Then you _did_ do it on purpose!" I hissed turning over so I could sit up.

Dean sighed. "I couldn't help myself."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You look sexy when you're furious, you know that?" He said off-handedly, his eyes dark.

My eyes widened in shock, and I scooted up against the headboard, hitting my head on it. "W-what did you just say?"

When he came up the bed after me, I realized I'd just trapped myself. I tried to glare at him, but he was so close, all I could focus on was his stupid eyes again…his beautiful green eyes…. _sigh_

 _Dammit._

"I like the way you get all mad when I'm talking to girls," he said seriously, his eyes roving over my face as if studying it. "I like it that you can't look away from my eyes. I like it that your favorite color is green. I like it that we're so comfortable around each other."

I couldn't help the tears welling up in my eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, gently rubbing the skin under my eyes with the pad of his thumb.

"Dean…you like girls, and I'm not a girl. I-I'm transgender, remember?"

"I know who you are, Riley," he said. I tried to look away, but he gripped my chin, making me look at him. "No more games, no more jokes, no more ignoring the issues at hand. Riley," he hesitated, searching my eyes. "Do you…wanna be with me?"

I licked my lips nervously, the motion drawing Dean's gaze down to my mouth. My heart stuttered. "Of course I do, Dean. But I'm scared."

His expression was so tender, it made my chest hurt. "Scared of what, sweetheart?"

"I've already had my heart broken in the past, and I promised myself I'd never put it on the line again." I drew in a shaky breath. "But I can never remember that stupid promise when you're around."

He gave a light laugh, drawing me forward into a soft hug. "I will _never_ betray you, Riley. I won't _ever_ cheat on you. And you're the first person I've ever said that to!"

I barked a laugh, burying my face in his shoulder. "I've never had a boyfriend." My voice was muffled.

"Honey, I'm sincerely honored to be your first."

"It's about time, you two."

Dean turned his head to glower at Sam. "Do you mind?"

Sam just smirked. "I mean, all that sexual tension? Sheesh. And you two have only known each other, what? A week?"

"Two weeks, smart-ass," I teased back, sticking out my tongue. "But since nobody's counting, who cares?"

"I thought you were taking a shower."

Sam smirked at Dean. "I'm going to. But do you really think I wouldn't want to know if you'd finally pulled your head out of your butt and asked Riley out? Dude," Sam laughed, disappearing back inside the bathroom. "Thank God I'm gonna be in the shower. I won't have to hear it."

"Hear what?" I looked at Dean. "What's he talking about?"

Dean growled under his breath. "Don't listen to him. He's an idiot."

"Jerk!"

"Bitch."

 **So, what did you think? Am I having them move too fast? Lemme know in the comments!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow…**

 **I really don't know what to say. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter uploaded! O.O I'm such a horrible person…pl-please don't hurt me…**

 **Anyhoo, here is chapter four (At 4 in the friggin morning, yes, I'm an incurable insomniac. So sue me.). Chapter five is in the works, but it's taking me a while cuz I'm working on other fics, and even a book, so I'm trying my best to work on each thing, but I also have a job and…yeah, I'm obviously busy with crap. So please, don't give up on me yet! I love Supernatural too much to quit this fic. ^_^**

 **This chapter got edited at the last minute, so I'd really like some comments on it.**

 **Oopsies, I'm rambling. Heh heh, sowwy… I know you'd rather read the fic than my author's note, so without further ado: chapter four.**

 **Allonsy!**

 **Eli**

The first thing I felt the next morning when I was slowly coming out of the death-like sleep I always went into was a warm body next to me. I forced my eyes open, and looked over at Dean. He was on his side, facing away from me. I looked at the other bed; Sam was still asleep, also facing away.

I smiled, and carefully removed myself from the bed. Fishing out the wallet Bobby had shoved into my hands before we left his house to hunt down Lilith, I opened it and my jaw about hit the floor at the amount of cash he'd stuffed inside. There had to be at least eight hundred or so dollars in there! I got dressed in jeans and stole one of Dean's t-shirts. I snickered quietly to myself at how big it was on me. Slipping my sneakers on, I was ready to go.

I shaded my eyes from the bright sunlight with one hand, and locked the door with the key. I slipped the key in my pocket and walked down the sidewalk, towards the Denny's I'd seen when we paid for the room. I ordered two bags worth of breakfast sandwiches for Sam and Dean, some cinnamon rolls for myself, coffee for all of us, then high-tailed it back to the room. I wanted to get there before they woke up to surprise them.

"Where were you?"

I flinched, and turned to face a frowning Sam. "Sorry. I went on a breakfast run." Holding up the bag, I said, "I was trying to make it a surprise."

Sam glanced back at Dean, still asleep, then smiled and shook his head. "It'll still be a surprise for him, Riley. Sorry 'bout that, but I got worried when I woke up and you weren't here." He took one of the bags, and stared inside it with huge eyes. "What'd you do, rob a bank to pay for this?"

"Bobby gave me a wallet," I muttered, taking a big bite of a cinnamon roll, then a sip of coffee to wash the bite down. "Looked like he'd been squirreling away money in it for a while."

Sam nodded. We fell into a comfortable silence, eating the food and drinking coffee. I turned my gaze towards Dean when I saw him stir.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," I sang at him, grinning when he shot me a grumpy look.

"Ha-ha. Wait," he sniffed the air, his eyes zeroing in on the Denny's bag's and cups. "Did you get breakfast?"

"Yup. One bag is Sam's, the other is yours."

Sam snorted at Dean as his older brother made a beeline for the still-full bag. "Dude, it's not like it's gonna go anywhere."

Dean made a face. "Aw, shut up Sammy."

I bit back a smirk, and ate another bite of cinnamon roll.

"Did you get us any rolls?"

I looked up guiltily. "Um…you can have one of mine."

My heart stuttered at the way his eyes went dark. He smiled slowly, seductively. "You sure?"

"Y-yes?"

Before I could react, he grasped my wrist in one hand, and drew it towards his mouth. He took a bite of the cinnamon roll in my hand, his eyes never leaving mine.

I gaped at him.

Sam made a face, throwing a balled-up sandwich wrapper at Dean. "Dude, not in front of me!"

Dean ignored him, continuing to eat the roll from my fingers, and proceeded to lick my fingers clean. He set my hand back on the table, and leaned into his chair, his eyes still dark.

"Mmm…very sweet," he winked.

I felt my face flush, and looked away.

"Perve." Sam glowered at Dean.

Dean merely smirked, then went back to eating his sandwiches.

"Seriously, I don't need to see that while I'm trying to eat," Sam complained, raking his hand through his hair.

"Don't like it, don't watch." Dean took a huge bite, moaning at the taste. He swallowed. "Or, better yet, get used to it. Riley and I are together, so you're gonna see more "interactions" like that between us."

Sam made a face, but wisely chose to not say anything.

I kept my gaze on my rolls, shyly avoiding looking at Dean. Sam grunted something about doing a grocery run, and that we'd "better not get up to anything" while he was gone, 'cause he didn't "want to walk in on anything" when he came back. Dean chuckled, the sound sending shivers down my spine, and Sam made one of his fiercest bitchfaces at both of us before slamming the door behind him.

"So."

I looked up at Dean. "What?" I mumbled around a bite of roll.

"I'm curious. Since you've never had a boyfriend, does that mean you've never had your first kiss?"

"I did the pocky game with a girl once," I admitted, swallowing the bite. "But I don't really count that. Our lips barely touched."

Dean cocked his head, a strange gleam entering his eyes.

"Uh…Dean?"

"I'm not gonna make you kiss me, Riley," he sent me a lopsided smile. "I know you'll do that when you're ready. But I do want you to sit next to me."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…okay." I smirked at him. "You gonna try anything?"

"I promise I won't," he said, crossing his heart with his right hand.

"Aw, rats," I teased, snapping my fingers in mock disappointment.

He laughed softly, the sound like melted butter. "Crazy kid. Get over here."

I gathered up my cinnamon rolls, and scooted to Sam's abandoned seat. As soon as I sat, Dean grabbed the chair and pulled it around next to him while I held on for dear life. Our chairs were right next to each other now, making a bench. I ignored the intense electric feeling I felt between our arms, and kept eating. I had no idea whether he felt the same thing, but I sure wasn't going to look at him.

His hand gently massaged the back of my neck as he stole a roll.

I turned to frown at him. "For a guy that promised not to do anything, you sure are pushing it."

He smirked. "I can't help it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Animal magnetism," he murmured, his mouth suddenly by my ear.

"Dean…" my voice came out low, a warning. "Don't be starting something you can't finish."

He chuckled.

"I'm serious!"

"Does that mean you want me to finish it?"

I gaped at him. Was he for real? He'd just promised a few seconds ago he wasn't going to try anything, yet here he was, basically challenging me!

"Well?" He smirked.

Oooooo….I wasn't good with backing down from anything. I set my jaw, and said, "You're impossible, Dean Winchester." _Impossibly irresistible, that is._

"Nope. I happen to be very possible," he said lowly, his lips just barely caressing my temple. "You're the one who's impossible."

"Dean…" I breathed, slowly, tauntingly turning my head towards him.

The door opened. "Oh, fuck, I knew I'd walk in on something."

Dean and I simultaneously turned and glowered at Sam for interrupting our moment. "Sammy, next time, knock, okay?"

"Knock?" Sam made a face, lugging in the few bags of groceries he'd gotten. "On my own door? No way. You guys want privacy, get another room."

My face burned as if I were in a furnace. "Um…that won't be necessary…"

"Knock anyway next time, bitch," Dean snapped.

Sam rolled his eyes as he set the groceries on one of the beds. "Make me, jerk."

XXX

Dean stayed mad at Sam for interrupting our moment. At least until Sam showed Dean the whole cherry pie he'd gotten. Dean was pretty quick to forgive and forget when he saw it. But even when Sam handed me a laptop of my own (how the hell had he had the time to grab a laptop?) I gave him the silent treatment an hour into our road trip. He pouted at me over the headrest a couple times, and I broke the tense silence with loud laughter.

"What the hell, Sammy?" Dean complained, shooting Sam an irritated look.

Sam grinned. "Sorry, man."

Dean looked in the rearview at me, but all I did was give him what I called my "angel face of innocence", and a shrug of the shoulders. He rolled his eyes and shook his a head a little, but I caught sight of a little smile in the mirror.

Staring at the back of his head, it was like a lightbulb went off. Perfect time for retaliation for earlier! I loosened my seatbelt, and leaned in, softly caressing his shoulders and the sides of his neck with my fingers. Before he could say anything, I put my mouth near his ear, and whispered, "I like you like this, busy with something else so you can't do anything to stop me."

He jerked, and turned so our gazes met. "You little tease…" he practically growled, a devilish light filling his eyes.

I merely smirked, sliding my hands off him. "Eyes on the road, driver," I purred, settling back into my seat.

"You are so getting it when we stop," Dean said lowly, his eyes locking with mine in the rearview. "It's not even funny."

Sam's head dropped to rest in his hands. He groaned out, "Dude, knock it off! I don't wanna hear this!"

I merely smiled as seductively as I could, then turned my head o look out the window. As the scenery sped by outside the car, I silently and gleefully chuckled to myself. Dean – 0, Riley – 1.

Game on.

XXX

As soon as the car was stopped for the night, I darted inside the motel lobby, registering us for one room. Nothing was gonna happen between me and Dean for a while yet, so I figured Sam could put up with rooming with us. Dean and Sam came in behind me. I leaned against the desk as the guy behind it hunted up our room key, and waved mockingly at Dean, smirking, though his smoldering eyes had my heart doing funny rhythms in my chest.

"What took you so long, babe?" I asked smugly, taking the key from the motel guy and twirling it around my finger. "Poor thing, you must be exhausted from driving all day."

A muffled snort came from Sam's direction. Dean glowered at him, and Sam covered his mouth though we could see his eyes crinkled from grinning. He apparently was finding this extremely amusing.

"Riley…" Dean growled, stepping closer.

I turned and smiled at the motel guy, who was watching us uneasily. "Thank you! I'll be back in the morning to return the key."

The guy jerked, and managed a small smile. "Uh…Enjoy your stay."

Dean scowled at him, causing the guy to draw back, his eyes wide.

"Dean, behave," I muttered at him, grabbing his arm and pulling him from the room. "Why did you scare him?"

"Why were you flirting?" He ground out.

"First fight," Sam groaned, taking the key from me and heading for the room. "I'm outta here."

"Shut up, Sam!" Dean shot after him, still scowling.

"I wasn't flirting, Dean." My voice was acidic. _Moron…thinking I'd cheat right off the bat!_

He turned and looked at me with an unreadable expression.

I lifted my chin in defiance. "I wasn't flirting, I was being friendly. Big difference. And if you're gonna be so goony about it, I'm sleeping on the floor tonight."

There was a beat of silence. "…goony?"

"Seriously, everything I said, and all you take away is that I said 'goony'?" I said in disbelief.

Before I could do or say anything else, he had me swept up into his arms, bridal-style, and carrying me to the room. The action shocked a yelp out of me, and I threw my arms around his neck so I wouldn't fall.

"Dean, put me down!" I hissed, struggling to get free.

He ignored me, hitting the door with his foot. Sam opened it. He stared at us in a mix of amusement and confusion.

"What the hell…"

"Stand aside, Sam," Dean said calmly. He went past Sam and dumped me unceremoniously on the bed near the wall.

I rolled over to the side and scrambled to my feet, furious for being treated like a bag of feed! "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again, Dean Winchester!"

He just looked at me, then over at Sam. "You mind giving us some time to talk things out?"

"Uh…" Sam's eyes darted between me and Dean. I vehemently shook my head no, pleading with him to stay. "I don't think Riley wants me to leave…"

Dean's gaze hardened. "Sam."

Sam held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll take a walk around the parking lot, and be back in fifteen minutes." 'Sorry,' he mouthed at me before exiting the room.

I bit my lower lip, feeling my body tremble slightly. _This isn't gonna end well…_ My head jerked up as Dean made his way around the bed towards me, and my feet involuntarily took me backwards till my back hit the wall.

He stopped. "Riley, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"

I swallowed hard. "N-nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

"Uh-huh," he said, eyes narrowing. Obviously, he didn't believe me.

I looked away. "You going to hit me now?"

"What?" He was stunned. "Why would I hit you?"

"I yelled at you…" I couldn't look him in the eye. _Damn…if he's anything like_ him _, I'm screwed._

"Riley, babe," his hands hesitantly grasped my shoulders. "I would never hit you. Yes, I get angry, but I don't hit people unless they're a monster I'm Hunting."

That got me to look him in the eye. "Sorry…"my voice wobbled. "It's just…you got so mad…then after Sam left…" I scrubbed at my eyes with my fists. "I'm sorry…I misunderstood."

He wrapped me up in a gentle hug. "Sweetheart, is there something you're not telling me?"

I stayed silent, my hands clinging to his back as I hid my face in his shoulder. There was no way in hell I was _ever_ going to tell him about my past.

"Riley?"

"No," my voice was muffled against his jacket. "There's nothing to tell. I promise." A thought hit me. "Man…I feel like a tiny little kid next to you…"

He chuckled. "You're petite, not tiny."

"No difference, Dean," I playfully groaned.

One hand softly rubbed my back, and I nestled more securely in his arms. "There is to me. Tiny is munchkins running around. Petite is small enough to be adorable."

I felt my face flush at that. "I'm not adorable," I muttered, smushing my face harder against his shoulder.

"Hey," he laughed. "What do you think you're doing, burrowing? That's my shoulder, not the ground."

I snickered, tightening my hold on him. My snickers turned into full-blown laughter as he gripped my sides and tried to pull me off.

"C'mon, spider monkey, let go."

I turned my head and murmured in his ear, "Why do you want me to let go?"

He sighed. "You're really tempting me, you know that? And that's not fair, Riley."

I pressed a light kiss to his jaw, then let go, landing back on the floor. I hadn't even noticed him lifting me off the floor earlier. I looked up at him, waiting for a reaction. He studied my face, looking for something, then gazed deeply into my eyes.

Before I understood what was happening, he bent down, and chastely pressed his lips against mine.

Holy _hell_ , my blood felt like it was boiling under my skin as soon as we made contact. My insides went all gooey, like melted butter, my knees wobbled, and he lifted me up again, directing my legs to his waist. I wrapped my legs around him, determined to not break this kiss, which was slowly becoming something not-so-innocent.

He tilted his head slightly, changing the angle. I followed his lead, still just a beginner in intimacy and grateful for the direction. Somewhere inside my brain was a little voice, shocked at how eagerly I was responding to that one little kiss. The rest of me ignored it in favor of concentrating fully on Dean, how he filled my senses, made me feel so alive. It was as if an electric current was coursing through my veins along with the fire, making me hyper-sensitive to his touch.

He moved one arm from around my waist to the back of my neck, gripping it gently but firmly to draw my head back. A low, unhappy whine escaped me, flooding my whole body with embarrassment. His lips on my neck sent all thoughts flying out of my head, and I whimpered. His lips curved upwards in a smile against my skin.

"You like this?" He breathed against my skin, slowly, tantalizingly stroking my pulse with his mouth.

"Dean…" came my strangled voice.

He breathed a small chuckle, then proceeded to nibble his way up to my ear. I shivered at the ticklish feeling. He pressed a gentle kiss to the hollow below my ear, then pulled back to lean his forehead against mine.

"We good?" He asked, sounding as breathless as I felt.

Dazed and unable to speak, I licked my dry lips and nodded slightly.

There was a knock on the door, jerking us from our moment. "Hey, is it okay to come back in now? I've been out here over twenty minutes," came Sam's voice.

Without a word, Dean gently set me down on the bed, pressing one last kiss to my forehead, then went to let Sam in. "Sorry, man. Had some stuff to work out."

Sam peeked around Dean, his eyes narrowing in suspicion when he saw me. I felt my face flush, and I ducked my head so he wouldn't see. Was our kissing that obvious? I was so inexperienced…

"Yeah, I'll bet you did," Sam was sarcastic, elbowing Dean. "Worked really hard at it too, didn't you, Dean?"

Dean made a face. "Put a sock in it, Samsquatch."

I snickered. Life with these two would never be boring.

XXX

For some reason, Sam decided to take me clothes shopping the next day.

"Riley, you only have a couple shirts, one pair of jeans, and one jacket," he pointed out. "You need more clothes. Even _Dean_ owns more than that!"

We looked over at Dean who sat on the bed, using Sam's laptop. Without looking at us, he said, "Sam's right, Riley. Go get yourself some clothes. Lilith can wait an hour or two."

I made a face, kicking at the carpet with my sock foot. "I hate clothes shopping…" In fact, I hated shopping, period!

"I want a private modeling show when you get back," he added, winking at me over the top of the laptop.

My face burned.

"Dean, stop it!" Sam groaned. "Save that stuff for when I'm not around."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Dude, you're always around. What, you want me to tell you to get lost all the time?"

Sam sent him a searing bitchface. "Not funny. Get your own room next time."

"Nu-uh. Then I wouldn't be able to sleep next to Riley all night," Dean complained, sounding a lot like a little kid whose mom had threatened to take his favorite toy away. "If we got our own room, he'd have his own bed. 'sides, this saves money."

Then Sam and I were on our way to the closest mall. Having not gone to the mall much in my own dimension, I just stood in the doorway of the first store, staring.

"Riley, you coming?" Sam stopped a few feet in and looked back at me. "It's just clothes. They don't bite."

I huffed a small, unsure laugh, and ventured inside. Only fifteen minutes later, we had a cart piled with work jeans, too many t-shirts to count, some plaid over-shirts to match Dean, a pair of work boots and a pair of sneakers, and a couple different jackets. On the other side of the store was the girls' clothes. A couple of their dresses caught my eye, and I contemplated the pros and cons of wearing them for Dean. I knew he'd like whatever I wore, but I wasn't so sure I wanted to be seen in them. They were really short, with an empire waist, and long flowy sleeves that stopped a couple inches above the wrists.

Luckily for me, they were a silvery grey or dark green instead of a horrid pink.

"You want one?" Sam took one off the rack, holding a grey dress up for inspection. "Y'know…this would really bring out the grey in your eyes."

I blinked. "I have grey?"

"Yeah, your eyes are mostly this pretty grey, like a star in the sky, almost," Sam struggled to explain, his face scrunching up in frustration. "And they have small flecks of gold and blue and green. Very pretty—oops, very cool, I mean." He sent me a sheepish smile.

I waved it off. "Don't sweat it. You're not the first to use girl words around me, and you certainly won't be the last."

He smirked. "Dean?"

Pretending not to hear, I went back to looking at the dress. Chewing at my lower lip, I wondered how Dean would react if I changed into it after we stopped again tonight. Would he like a dress on a boy? Or was that a taboo kink? Butterflies swirled in my stomach at that word. If we ever did become…erm, _intimate_ , what if he did have kinks? Was I supposed to do every one of them?

My whole body went hot at the idea.

"Dude, just get the thing. It's not like we can't get rid of it if you decide you don't want it in a few days."

I looked up at Sam. "I don't know…do you have any idea how Dean would react if he saw me in a dress?"

Sam's eyes widened a bit at that. "Um…" his face turned thoughtful, then he grimaced. "You might wanna wait a bit before you wear that in front of him. I think he'd like it too much, if you catch my drift."

I looked down at the dress, then back up at him as his words finally made sense. "Oh… _oh_ ," I stammered. "I'll just…hide it with my other clothes."

"Good idea." Sam looked like he was gonna be sick at the thought. "Ugh…yeah, just wait until you guys have a room to yourselves, okay? I _really_ don't wanna walk in on anything."

"Sam!" I hissed. My face was so hot, I knew it had to be red as a lobster.

He shook his head, and pushed the cart up towards the cash registers. We checked out, then went through a drive through, grabbing him and Dean some burger meals, and me a huge salad. Dean had texted Sam at the store, demanding food.

"Pie," I suddenly remembered.

Sam glanced at me. "What was that?"

"We should bring back pie for Dean."

Sam groaned. "Ugh…fine. What kind?"

"Um…" I chewed at my lower lip in thought. "Does he like cheesecake?"

"Does that even count as pie?"

We looked at each other. "It may be called cake, but it's really a custard-like pie," I explained.

He shook his head, but turned into the parking lot of a grocery store. "This is insane. He doesn't _need_ pie."

"Hey, Dean's your brother!" I frowned disapprovingly at Sam, irritated at his words. "Be nice! I'm sure he did a lot of things for you, growing up. You owe him, Sam."

Sam made a face, though wisely chose not to say anything. He handed me a credit card, and I dashed inside, hurrying straight to the bakery section. In the second horizontal cooler, I found some New York cheesecakes, and I picked one up and carried it up to the front. As I stood in line, I felt a prickly sensation on the back of my neck as if someone was staring at me. Trying not to be obvious, I glanced around, my eyes landing on a woman in line to my left. She glanced at me, and I felt a jolt of anxiety.

 _Ruby_.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins as the flight instinct hit me. I was impatient to get the pie paid for and get as far away from Ruby as I could.

"I don't know what you think you're doing with the Winchesters," came a hissed whisper in my ear. "But let me make something quite clear: Sam is _ours_ , and it's only a matter of time until I get him back on my side."

I turned my head and glared at Ruby. "Sam knows you were tricking him. Why would he ever choose _you_ over Dean _?"_

Ruby smiled darkly. "Because I have what he wants, sweetie, and that's something you and Dean can't and won't provide." She turned and walked off, throwing one last sentence over her shoulder, "See you soon, Riley Campbell."

A chill went right through me at that. _She knows my name…_ I didn't remember paying for the pie, but I must have since I handed Sam a receipt along with the credit card as I got in the car. He talked at me on the way back to the motel, though I didn't hear a word. All I could think about was Ruby's words.

Sam was in danger.

 **Dun-dun-duuuuuun…..The demons are coming for them!**

 **Sooner or later, lol.**

 **Yeah…**

 **The next chapter is being a little bitch to me, so it's gonna take a while to get it done an uploaded. Sorry about that. It might be even longer than this one took.** **I apologize in advance if it is. Please don't hunt me down and hurt me….I'll finish it somehow…someway…**

 **Someday… (jk)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I partially lied. I had the chapter about a third done when I uploaded the last chapter. But it took me forever to hunt down my muse and tie him to a chair. The only thing that got him to cooperate again were threats of letting my evil side have "fun" with him.**

 ***laugh***

 **Anyhoo, this is chapter five of Riley's adventures with the Winchester crowd. When I went back through the first four chapters, I wondered if I had Riley and Dean move too fast, but now I think I'm at a good pace. No, I won't be writing any M-rated scenes between them just yet. Riley has past issues from his old world to work out, and Dean is not willing to push him. It's gonna take a few fights, tears, and some separation before we get to the really good stuff, so hang in there, please!**

 **I don't do this, cuz it's obvious that I don't own anything I write about on here, but I'm amusing myself by doing this disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH SUPERNATURAL EXCEPT FOR THE CHARACTER RILEY CAMPBELL. (AND THE EXTRA: SEAN).**

 **Also, I make no promises, but if you have an idea about what could happen with Riley, comment and let me know. I might use it!** **Ideas are ALWAYS welcome.**

 **Okay, I promise I'm done rambling now. It's four in the morning, AGAIN, so I really need to get to sleep. I have work tomorrow afternoon, and there's no way I'll be able to function without enough sleep. Oh, and there's another surprise in this chapter. Last one for a while. Can you guess what it is?**

 **Over and out, and Allonsy!**

 **Eli**

Dean could tell as soon as I walked in the door that I was freaked about something. I don't know how I had managed to hide it from Sam on the drive back, but he was completely oblivious, chattering to Dean about the cool clothes we'd gotten.

Sam went into the bathroom to take a quick shower before we hit the road again, and Dean turned to me. "What's wrong, Riley?"

The whole story came pouring out so fast, it's a wonder he heard any of it. After I was done, all I heard were the little gasps coming out of my mouth as if I'd been running a marathon. Dean hugged me close.

"It's okay, kiddo. I'm not gonna let Ruby get her dirty little demon claws on Sam again. He's safe as long as he's with us." He stroked my back in a comforting manner.

I nodded before burying my face in his chest, wishing Dean had just plain killed Ruby when we went to get Sam.

We left the motel about fifteen minutes later. Sam let me take the front seat so I could sit next to Dean. As he put it, he didn't wanna see us "make eyes at each other in the mirror".

Pfft. Priceless.

I leaned against the side of the car, letting my eyes slide shut in exhaustion. Out of nowhere, this insane headache hit me, like a punch on the head. Rubbing at my temples didn't help, and the headache only grew worse.

Then I was seeing images flying past my eyes so fast, I felt sick: the showdown with Lilith, Sam in the middle of a fire, Dean fighting demons…. Over and over they played, faster and faster, until I finally sunk into a blessed darkness.

XXX

Next thing I knew, my eyes opened and all I saw was the ceiling of yet another motel room. My head still ached, but nowhere near as bad as it had in the car ride. Movement at the side caught my attention.

"You okay?"

I blinked a few times, trying to dispel the fogginess before my sluggish brain told me my glasses were gone. "Where did my glasses go?"

Dean made a face at someone on the other side of me. "He wakes up after scaring us half to death, and all he asks is where his glasses are."

"Shut up, Dean," Sam snapped, lightly shoving Dean to the side. He looked down at me in sympathy. "Sorry, but you had some kind of a fit in the car. Your glasses got smashed."

"…great…" I muttered, attempting to sit up, but a wave of vertigo and some person's hand forced me back down.

"Not so fast. You're still recovering."

I squinted, trying to make out the third person. "Cas?"

He smiled. "Yes, it's me. Dean asked me to help you. I was able to lessen the pain, but there's nothing else I can do, since this is all part of being a prophet."

I stared at him, speechless. _I'm a_ _ **what**_ _now?_

Dean and Sam looked at each other, then back at Castiel. "Prophets only exist in Biblical times," Sam stated quietly.

"No, they don't," Castiel corrected, his gaze still on me. "And with Riley being from another dimension, I think he can affirm that."

"You mean… _I'm_ the one who's going to write the Winchester Gospels?" I asked faintly, my stomach twisting. "How am I gonna do that when I can't even _see_?"

Without a word, Castiel pressed two fingers to my head. I felt some sort of itchy/squeezy feeling in my eyes, then he took his hand away.

"There. Can you see better now?"

 _Were Cas's eyes so blue on the show? Did Dean always have those faint freckles? And holy crap, Sam ain't that bad looking…_ I swallowed hard. "Um…definitely, Cas. Thanks."

"Wait, wait, wait, Waddya talking about, "Winchester gospels"?" Dean demanded, staring hard at Castiel then me. "What's all this about? Riley, I think you'd better explain what you know."

I glowered at him. "How about letting your boyfriend recover first, _then_ explain all he knows, genius?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Sorry…I'm just tired of all these surprises."

"You're tired?" My temper flared, clearing my head the rest of the way. " _You're_ tired? Try being _me_ , a regular college kid who gets sucked from their world and plunked right in the middle of their favorite TV show _and_ made a friggin prophet! Try being me for one second, Dean! My _family_ isn't here, my _college friends_ aren't here, my _job_ isn't here, and I'm just expected to adjust to everything like it's _nothing_." I was sitting on the edge of the bed then, glaring up at him. "Try being eight years _behind_ where I used to be, Dean. Now that's a real doozy to get used to! _You're tired_ ," I finished, disgusted.

Sam was biting his lips together in a pathetic attempt to not laugh. Apparently, he thought Dean deserved that whole tirade. Dean just stared at me. Castiel was clearly confused, his eyes darting between me and Dean.

"Um…would you like me to leave?"

"No, Cas," I ground out, my eyes mean little slits. Dean had pissed me off something fierce. "In fact, why don't you and I take a little walk outside? You can explain what a prophet's duties are to me." With that, I grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the motel room.

"I do not understand, Riley. Why are you angry with Dean?"

I stopped, almost causing Castiel to crash into me. "It should be fairly obvious, Cas." I turned and looked at him, frustrated beyond words. "We're in a relationship, yet he only thinks about himself. What am I supposed to do about that?"

Castiel was taken aback. "I really don't know anything about human relationships…"

"Oh, sorry Cas. I wasn't really asking," I huffed a small laugh. "I'm just venting. That question was rhetoric."

"Ah," his face cleared of confusion.

"So, _prophet_!" I forced my irritation at Dean to the back of my mind. "What all does that entail?"

"You've already experienced the visions." At my affirming nod, he continued, "You are the one person on Earth right now that has a direct line to God. He is the one giving you these visions, and it's up to you to interpret them. That shouldn't be too hard. But if you need help, all you need to do is call me and I'll come."

I made a face. "Okay, got all that. Can I ask a quick question?"

Castiel tilted his head, waiting.

"Why me? Wasn't Chuck Shurley supposed to be the prophet? Did my coming here screw up the order of things or something?"

Castiel smiled. "Calm down, Riley. No, there is no Chuck Shurley prophet. No, you didn't ruin anything. In fact, the name 'Riley Campbell' was always on the list of prophets."

I stared at him, speechless. _WHAT?_

"Riley," he said softly. "You were meant to be here."

XXX

I sunk down on the bed later with everything Castiel had told me swirling around in my head. From what he'd been able to uncover, none of the angels nor demons had brought me here, so he concluded the Father Himself had summoned me. According to Castiel, I had a huge part to play in this whole nightmare.

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. Well, all these years of watching Supernatural, I'd wanted to be like them. My wish had been granted – in a way. Instead of being just like them, I was _Hunting_ with them, something that was near impossible for my brain to wrap itself around.

Something cold was pressed on my leg. "Riley?"

I lowered my hand and opened my eyes, staring blankly up at Dean. "Hi, Dean."

He smiled uncertainly. "I thought about what you said earlier – well, yelled really – and I'm sorry about not really thinking about how you were feeling. I got you a milkshake. Um…" he rubbed the back of his neck, self-conscious. "Sam said you like ice cream, so I got you some that won't melt out of a cone."

"Milkshakes are my favorite," I said softly, smiling up at him. "Thanks."

He sat on the bed next to me, his arm going around my shoulders. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Yes and no," I sighed, taking a sip of my shake. _Ahh…nice, cold vanilla ice cream…_ "I hardly had any time to adjust to becoming a Hunter before going after Lilith, and now I find out I'm a prophet. It's just…my head is spinning from everything being thrown at me." I peeked up at him. "The only thing keeping me sane right now is you."

He smirked. "Glad to hear it."

I rolled my eyes, but smirked back at him. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean your ego needs to get bigger, you doofus."

"Doofus?" His eyebrows went up. "So I'm a doofus now?"

"Dean, you've always been a doofus. Even when I was _watching_ the show. But," I leaned against him, snuggling the side of my face into his arm. "Now you're _my_ doofus."

"There's no point in arguing, is there."

"Nope."

"I didn't think so."

"Glad to see you've learned to agree with whatever I say so quickly. That'll save us a lot of arguments in the future," I teased, smirking, though I knew he couldn't see it.

He laughed, putting an arm around my shoulders and drawing me closer. "I'll have to remember that: agree with whatever Riley says, and our lives will be peaceful. Well," he pressed a light kiss to the top of my head. "As peaceful as it can be for a family of Hunters.''

I groaned, turning my face to hide it in his neck. "I bet I'll shoot myself in the foot first time I go on a Hunt."

"Not gonna happen."

"How do you know, smart guy?" I teased, peeking up at him through my lashes.

He was completely serious. "Cuz Sam and I are gonna train you until you can kill a monster without batting an eye."

A part of me was repulsed by the idea. But the other side was eager to learn everything Dean and Sam knew about Hunting. I snuggled closer. "I know it sounds crazy, but I can hardly wait for you to teach me."

He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of my head, then rested his cheek there. We sat in silence for a while, just holding each other, content to be still.

XXX

"Oooowwww…." I hissed, limping towards the Impala. _Being possessed by a spirit is no fun….and I don't remember them doing that in the show!_ I glanced over my shoulder to see where Dean was – big mistake – and accidentally stepped onto my injured foot with my full weight.

Down I went.

"Sonuvabitch! Fucking hell!" I screamed between clenched teeth. Cuz, guess what? That silly little jokey thing I'd said to Dean back in the motel about me shooting myself in the foot?

I ended up doing that exact thing.

Fuck. My. LIFE.

"Riley!"

I heard hurried footsteps from both Sam and Dean behind me. I untwisted my legs with a small, pained gasp, and pushed myself to my knees. "I-I'm fine, guys, really…" I lied, struggling to my feet. Attempting to smile reassuringly up at my worried boyfriend and his brother, I managed to forget which foot I was trying to stand up on. I shrieked in surprise and pain, toppling over on my side. _Crap…forget walking, can someone_ _ **carry**_ _me, please?_

"Stop hurting yourself," Dean snapped, though I could hear how worried he was. "I'll carry you to the car, crazy kid."

I huffed indignantly at that, though on the inside I was relieved. "I'm not a baby, Dean," my mouth said, but my arms snaked around his neck as he picked me up, bridal-style.

"Dude, we could hear you on the other side of the warehouse," Sam said sourly. "You scared the shit out us!"

"What happened to your foot?"

Biting my lip, I buried my face in Deans neck. "Too embarrassing," I groaned.

"…please tell me you didn't shoot yourself in the foot."

"It was the only way to get the spirits control over me to weaken!"

Dean's arms tensed around me. I felt him turn his head to look at Sam, who I assumed was looking back at him. "We went the wrong way…"

"Damn…" Sam growled. "Sorry, Riley. We thought the spirit was on the other side of the warehouse. Otherwise—"

"Lemme guess," I interrupted, glowering around Dean's head at Sam. "You wouldn't have left me alone."

Sam frowned at my expression. "Of course not!"

"Cuz you guys think of me as a kid?"

"No, cuz you're still new at this," Dean answered. Sam opened the front passenger door and stepped back, allowing Dean to gently settle me on the seat. "Even some veterans have trouble with a spirit."

"You forget, I'm well-versed in the Winchester way of fighting evil crap," I grumbled. "I've watched the show for twelve seasons." Then it hit me. "Wait a sec, Sam sits in the front. What am I doing up here?"

"You're injured, and you're his significant other," Sam said, a teasing light entering his eyes. "I think you rate above a little brother."

My mouth opened and shut a few times as if I were a fish. Honestly, I had never expected to ride shotgun in Baby! Even in all my dreams and fantasies back in my old world, I had been in the backseat, never the front. Yet here I was, not just Dean's boyfriend, but riding in the front of Baby.

"Dude, I think we broke Riley," Sam chuckled, opening a door and sliding in, sitting behind me.

"Shut up, bitch."

"Jerk."

Dean crouched beside me, tenderly lifting my injured foot. He froze at my quiet, pained hiss, then proceeded to slowly and carefully slip my sneaker off.

"Ow…" I couldn't help whining.

"Sorry," Dean murmured. He looked up at me, clearly unhappy. "I was expecting rock salt. You have a _bullet_ in your foot!"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I know. The rock salt didn't work. But then it started ranting about the pain, the pain, so I fought for control and shot my foot. Spirit took off like a rocket," I snickered, closing my eyes and leaning my head back against the seat.

"…this is gonna have to wait till we get back to the motel, Riley," he sighed wearily. Next thing I knew, he was in the driver's seat, lifting my shot foot onto his lap. "Gotta make sure it doesn't bleed too much."

"How are you gonna drive with my foot on your lap?" I asked grumpily, opening my eyes to frown at him disapprovingly.

He smirked at me, turning the car and putting it in gear. As we pulled away from the warehouse, he said, "I've driven under worse circumstances than this."

"I don't wanna know."

"No, you don't," Sam piped up from the backseat.

"Shut up, bitch."

"Make me, jerk."

"Vos vere habere cerritulus duo via inter se vera te amo," I muttered.

There was a small beat of silence. Then…

"HA!" Sam barked, busting into laughter.

His laugh was infectious, and I couldn't help cackling.

"What?" Dean looked in the rearview at Sam, then at me, clueless. "What? What did you say?"

I smirked. "You really need to brush up on your Latin, Dean." _Although, you'd probably kill me if you ever found out what I just said…_

XXX

"Quomodo Latine Te amo te riles, Dean," I murmured in his ear, shivering at the feeling of his lips gliding up my neck, his teeth tugging at my earlobe.

"I never knew Latin could sound so hot in a make-out session," he chuckled heatedly, drawing back slightly to rest his forehead against mine.

I merely smiled shyly at him.

He ducked back under to nip and kiss at my jaw. I lazily carded my fingers through his short hair, smiling to myself. I jerked slightly as he dragged his teeth along my neck, and couldn't keep back the small moan dragged form my throat. The sound seemed to encourage Dean, and he kissed lower, down to my shoulder.

I hated to do this, but, "Juxta condictum revertar ad Sam sit primum de bibliotheca, Dean. Oportet probabiliter prohibere."

He just raised his head, pupils wide, his smile sexy and knee-weakening. "I have no fucking clue what you just said, Riley."

I blinked a few times. _Oh…oops._ "Heh, sorry," I said sheepishly. "I thought I said that in English. I was just thinking we should stop soon, since Sam will be back from the library before long."

Dean just smirked. "Sammy can deal with it. I got nothing to hide."

A pleasant warmth filled my chest as a blush blossomed on my face. "D-Dean…"

He silenced me with a passionate kiss that had my head reeling.

"Oh, _c'mon_ , you two!"

Sam's voice snapped me out of my daze, and I reluctantly dragged myself away from Dean's lips. "S-Sam, hi…" I said weakly, waving at him.

He just glowered back. I shrank down, hiding behind Dean.

Dean sat back on his heels, twisting to face his brother. "Dude, I've told you before, _don't_ freak out Riley." His voice was a bit hard. I have no idea what he expression was, but it must've been bad enough for Sam to immediately look guilty.

"Sorry, Riley."

"It's fine, Sam," I told him, giving him a small smile.

Sam cleared his throat, looking awkward. "A-anyway, I finally found out who the spirits are."

"I thought we were Hunting one spirit, Sam," Dean commented, rolling to the side to sit beside me on the bed. He was careful not to touch my bandaged foot, which was propped up on a pillow. "Where did the other one come from?"

"It's not just two, Dean. There were about five or six haunting that warehouse. Riley had been possessed by the one that was shot there back in the thirties." He grabbed his laptop, powering it on. After pulling up a window, he turned it so we could see a grainy black and white photo of a black man. "Ku Klux Klan sympathizers dressed up in white clothes and masks, parading through the town with rifles. The spirit who possessed Riley is Ephraim Waters, the grandson of a slave. He'd been accused of molesting the mayor's youngest daughter, who was only thirteen at the time, and the group pulled him from his home to execute him."

"They shot him?" I was appalled.

"It wasn't a quick death, either," Sam sighed in disgust, settling himself on the other motel bed. They…well, they tortured him with bullets until one member finally put one in his head."

I felt sick. How could people do that to another human being?

"That…is so wrong," Dean groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Like I said, monsters I get. But people? People are horrible."

"I agree," I said in a small voice.

Dean pulled me into his chest comfortingly. I rested my head against him, allowing a content smile to appear on my face. Feeling relaxed, I draped an aarm over his waist, snuggling closer.

"Ow…" I mumbled as the movement caused a white-hot pain to shoot though my foot.

"Stop moving, goofball," Dean chided, one of his hands rubbing my back soothingly.

Sam sighed. "So, I was thinking, we could go back in and finish the job tonight, Dean."

I turned and looked at him. "Tonight? Why not tomorrow? My foot will feel better by then, and—"

"I am not risking you shooting your other foot, Riley," Dean growled. "Last thing you need is a hole in both feet."

"A hole would go all the way through. I just have a…uh, _gouge_ in my foot, thank you very much," I said as indignantly as I could.

"You're not going."

"You can't stop me."

"How will you get in the Impala if you can't walk without screaming in pain?"

"I'll crawl."

"We won't wait for you."

"I'll crawl to the warehouse, then."

"I'll lock the door."

"Then I'll just bash a window in."

"You won't be able to get to the weapons, Riley."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you…" I muttered tauntingly, remembering a couple of days ago when I had secretly made copies of his car keys.

His eyes narrowed at me in suspicion. "You can be very stubborn, you know that."

"I'm well aware. And, by the way, I wasn't demanding to Hunt the spirits. Just sitting outside the warehouse in the car would be enough."

"I don't get it," Sam shook his head, staring at me, perplexed. "Why do you want to come along so badly?"

"I…" I almost choked on the emotion filling me. "I need to make sure you two will come back. I need to be there to see you two make it out alive with my own two eyes."

Dean said nothing, just kept rubbing my back.

"We could call you," Sam suggested, though by the sound of his voice, he didn't sound hopeful that I'd to staying behind and waiting for a friggin call.

"Not good enough," I snapped, burrowing closer to Dean. "Besides, I get my kicks out of making you squirm when Dean and I kiss each other."

Dean guffawed, and Sam shot him bitchface number forty. "Ha-ha, very funny, you two."

"Aw, c'mon, Sammy. You know you love us."

"Do I? Do I really?"

"You'd better," I interjected before either brother could say anymore. "Or I'll kick your ass."

There was a beat of stunned silence…then they both started laughing, while I just grinned at them.

 **Okay, I got nothing for the next chapter yet. Sorry bout that, but I do have stuff outside of writing. I'll get to it soon and update when I can. Reviews feed my muse!**

 **Allonsy,**

 **Eli**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wassup, my peeps! It's only three in the morning this time, YES! *fist-pump***

 **This chapter was a big pain in my ass. It did NOT want to be written, but I finally managed to force it into existence. Like I said before, my irritating muse keeps going on vacation, and doesn't tell me when he's gonna return. (I'm seriously considering tying him to a chair.)**

 **So…little surprise at the end. Even I didn't have a clue about it when I started this chapter, so I'm as surprised as you guys will be! Hopefully I'm not moving this story too fast for your taste's, but I do think I'm in a good place here, so, meh…**

 **Lol**

 **Anyway, enjoy the new chapter! The next one will take longer to upload, since I haven't even written it yet. Heh-heh, sowwy bout that, guys. *hides face in shame***

 ***ahem***

 **A-anyway, here's chapter six!**

 **Allonsy,**

 **Eli**

 _The blonde girl kept kicking Dean, shouting at him how he and Sam should've noticed her and saved her before it was too late…the pudgy, curly-haired guy went after both Sam and Dean…twin girls tormented Bobby…Henrikson went mainly after Dean, telling him about the torture Lilith had put him and the others in the police station through before finally killing them…_

 _Then Gabby flickered before my sight, glaring at me._

" _It's your fault I'm dead…you basically killed me!"_

 _Nonononononononononooooo….._

" _I'm dead because of you!"_

" _You were such a weak, horrible brother!"_

" _You deserved everything Michael did!"_

XXX

I stood in front of the motel window, gazing outside without really seeing anything, sipping at a cup of decaf coffee I'd made for myself with the pathetic motel room coffee maker. It was the early hours, with Dean and Sam still snoring away in their beds. I was as careful as possible getting out of bed, successful in not waking them up. Instead of sneaking out to get breakfast for everyone, I figured I'd wait until they got up and we'd all go out.

That, and I wanted to mull over my nightmare.

Ever since Castiel had told me I was a prophet, I'd been on edge, waiting for wacky visions or dreams. Not knowing what to expect, I'd tried to be patient. And what did I get? A vision about the Witnesses.

A quiet groan came from one of the beds. Without turning around, I said, "Let's have breakfast out today."

"What…" Dean cut himself off, yawning. "What are you doing up already, Riley?"

"Like I _told_ myself to get up at an ungodly hour?" I snorted.

"Don't get sassy with me, shortstack," he teased, suddenly behind me, snaking his arms around my waist while resting his chin on my shoulder. When I didn't reply, only gripping my cup harder, his tone turned concerned. "What's wrong, babe? Your foot still bothering you?"

"Nah, that was two days ago. Sure, it aches some, but I can run just fine now," I smirked at him. He smirked back.

"S'long as it's not me you're running from."

"Never," I promised, turning in his arms to face him, making him lift his head up.

His lips met mine in a chaste kiss.

"Guys, that is one thing I do _not_ wanna wake up to," Sam grumbled from his bed.

I pulled back, chuckling quietly at Dean's huff of annoyance, narrowing my eyes at Sam. "Suck it up, buttercup."

Sam made a face and threw his pillow at us. Dean turned before it could hit him in the back and caught it, whipping at back at Sam. I dashed to our bed, lobbing my own pillow at Sam.

"Hey! Two against one!" He yelped, tossing my pillow back at me, hitting my legs. "Not fair, cheaters!"

"Suck it up, buttercup," Dean used my words, grinning unrepentantly at Sam.

"Jerk!"

"Bitch."

I gave them a blank stare when they both looked at me expectantly. "What?"

Sam shrugged, then stretched his arms over his head. "You usually say something funny in Latin."

"…not up to it today, I guess," I mumbled, running a hand over my bedhead, and taking a long draw from my cup.

Dean's eyes flashed concern. "What's wrong? Bad dreams?"

That hit too close to home. I winced, turning to look back out the window. "I'm fine."

"Liar," Sam yawned.

"Non sum mendax! Praeterea suus nullam rem curiosum. Ire iterum immiscere rebus alterius!"

There was nothing but silence from both of them. I had a feeling they were looking at each other in confusion, wondering what was biting me. I sighed, knowing I had to tell them.

"I had a weird dream, and that's why I'm up earlier than you guys. Happy now?"

I felt a gentle, hesitant hand on my shoulder. "Riley…Did you have a vision in your sleep?"

I shrugged at Sam, not answering. What was the point? He'd know if I was lying.

He sighed wearily. "Dean? You mind?"

"Wait, what?" I turned to give him a glare. "You're sending Dean away?"

He gave me a hard look. "You and I need to talk. Dean doesn't understand about visions, but I do."

Dean grunted. "And you think getting me out of the room will help Riley feel comfortable enough to talk about it?"

"No!" I burst out, immediately latching on to Dean's arm, surprising them both again. "No! He stays here!" I felt like a petulant child about to have a hissy fit. Tears unexplainably filled my eyes. "D-Dean has to st-stay…" My whole body started shaking, my vision swam…I could hardly breathe.

"Whoa, _whoa_ , Riley! Calm down!"

"Dean, what just happened?"

"He's having some sort of panic attack!"

"What? Why?"

"Probably because you tried to get me out of the room, genius!"

It was hard to concentrate on them. Instead, I stared before me in horror as my vision from last night played over and over in front of my eyes. Shutting my eyes did nothing; I could still see every detail perfectly.

 _All right already!_ I sobbed in my head. _I'll tell them!_

"The Witnesses!" I gasped out, forcing my eyes open. It was hard to see anything with the remnants of my vision clouding everything. But I managed to lock onto Dean's terrified gaze. "The Witnesses are coming to punish the Hunters! It's a seal, and we can't let it be broken! Lilith is going to raise them, breaking the seal, one step closer to Lucifer walking free of the cage! W-we…" I breathed deeply, trying to calm my racing heart, stop hyperventilating. "We n-need to g-get back to B-Bobby's house, save him…"

There was a sound of wings. "I heard your call for help, Dean. I—What is wrong with the Prophet?"

"The _Prophet_ has a name, y'know, Cas." Dean sounded annoyed. I just concentrated on listening to the to distract myself. "Riley had a vision about something called the Witnesses. Mind explaining what they are?"

"It's a seal."

"Yeah, he already told us that. Anything else?"

"If souls are raised with a certain ritual, it will break the seal. Those souls are called Witnesses, and they will go after the person they think wronged them the most."

"Riley said we needed to get to Bobby's…"

"Yes, that would be wise. If the seal does get broken—"

"Which it will if we don't fucking _move_ ," I interrupted, my voice weak and shaky.

Dean pulled me into his chest as Castiel continued to talk. "If the seal gets broken, the Hunters seem to be the number one choice for revenge."

"Great…" Sam groaned. "So…how do we stop the seal from being broken?"

"I would tell you if I knew, but at the moment, we are busy fighting the demons on plenty of other seals. I'm afraid you three are on your own with this one," Castiel sounded tired. "I'm sorry."

"Fine, that's fine," my voice was a bit muffled by Dean's chest. I looked over at Castiel, managing a small, weak smile.

He pressed two fingers against my head, relieving me of the remains of my panic attack, and filling me with a wonderful sense of peace and warmth. I blinked sleepily up at him, yawning.

"What'd you do?" Dean demanded, staring at me in confusion.

"He should sleep on the way to Bobby's. I made it so he won't dream."

"Thanks, Cas," I said softly, resting my head against Dean. My eyelids felt so heavy, I couldn't keep them from closing.

"Did you really have to put him out?"

"He is exhausted, Dean. I could tell from the dullness of his soul. His visions aren't letting him get enough rest."

"Whatever. So, you sure there's nothing you can think of to help us keep this seal from being broken? Like, a biblical ritual of some sort?"

"I'm sorry, Dean. I am a mere soldier. You would have to ask someone higher up than me, except we're all needed on the field right now. But I shall ask and see what I can find."

There was a rustling sound. "Dammit, I wish he could've just told us what to do!"

"Dean, calm down. First things first, we gotta get Riley to Bobby's. His vision really affected him."

"You think I don't know that?" Dean snapped.

Sam was quiet for a few seconds. "You…"

"What?"

Silence.

"Spit it out, Sam!"

"You love Riley," Sam's voice was full of wonder, a bit of disbelief.

Before I finally sank into unconsciousness, I heard Dean sigh, and mutter, "Yeah, I do."

 _Huh…I must be dreaming…what a strange dream…_

XXX

My eyes flew open, and I jackknifed up with a loud, ragged gasp. "Dean!"

"Shh, shh," he was there, arms wrapped around me, soothingly rubbing my back.

"W-where are we?" I breathed, my strength gone though I had been asleep for who knows how long.

"Bobby's house. Don't you recognize the room?" Dean pulled back a bit to look into my eyes, his full of concern and relief. "This is the room Bobby let you stay in before."

My body relaxed immediately as I realized we were in a safe place. I screwed my eyes shut and clung closer to him, hiding my face in his chest. The visions swam through my mind, causing me to shake from the intensity.

"So…Witnesses, huh?"

"Y-yes…we need to stop Lilith from raising them. They're a seal. A major one."

"You don't happen to already know how to stop Lilith from raising them, do ya?" he asked half-heartedly.

"No…" I peeked up at him.

"In the…" he frowned up at the ceiling. "In the _show_ , did we stop her?"

"Dean…" I mumbled, turning my face away. What was I supposed to do? Lie, or tell him the awful truth?

Two fingers under my chin pulled my face back so my eyes would meet his. He looked at me, a soft expression on his face. "You can tell me, Riley."

"No, you didn't stop her, Dean…" I whispered. "In the show, Ruby had Sam so full of demon blood, he killed her in a convent, and that released Lucifer."

He froze. "What?"

"If we could just kill her now, the cage would stay locked."

"How would Lilith dying in a convent set the Devil free?" Dean demanded.

I frowned at him. "She's the final seal."

"Oh…okay…" he muttered. Then he quirked an eyebrow at me. "So, what you're saying is, that if we can manage to kill her, throwing the breaking of the Seals out of order, Lucifer won't get out?"

"Exactly."

"How the hell are we supposed to find her?" Dean muttered to himself, rubbing a hand over his face. I felt a pang of guilt; he looked so exhausted. "Let alone kill her?"

"Sam has a demon blade. Ruby made it for him," I offered, letting my head fall softly to his chest. His heartbeat was comforting. I sighed, and snuggled closer, feeling my anxiety and fear melt away.

He tenderly rubbed his hand over my back. "Well, that sure simplifies things," he said, his chuckles lightly making my head bounce on his chest.

"Glad you're amused," I teased, shifting so my chin was on his chest, my eyes locked with his.

He smirked at me. "C'mere, you," he commanded playfully.

I raised one hand, giving him a jaunty salute. "Yes, sir!"

XXX

I felt twitchy. The boys and Bobby kept glancing over their shoulders at me, as if I was an armed bomb liable to explode at any moment. Sending them reassuring smiles seemed to help with Sam, but Dean and Bobby only frowned, giving each other this look I could not decipher.

"Am I being sidelined for this?"

"Yes," Dean said bluntly.

Bobby and Sam glared at him. Dean looked defiantly back.

I merely shrugged. There was a small part of me that resented Dean not letting me have a say in the matter. But the bigger part of me was singing with relief that I didn't have to help fight against Lilith.

"Whatever," I muttered, picking at my fingernails. "Can I at least have _something_ to _do_? I'm fucking _bored_ over here!" I looked pointedly at Dean.

Sam busted out laughing, the book he was looking through for a demon trap strong enough to hold Lilith falling off his lap.

Dean shook his head, picking up a book and clomping over to me in the living room. He crouched down, looking me in the eye. "Look, I know you're annoyed that I won't let you help in the battle, but that doesn't mean you have to have a tantrum."

I merely looked coolly at him. "Are you saying I'm acting like a child?"

Sam snickered behind him. Dean cast a glower over his shoulder. Bobby held a book up, hiding his face from Dean. Sam just grinned at his brother before going back to his book.

"Because," I continued, gently plucking the book, a handwritten one about demons, out of his grasp. "That's exactly what it sounds like you're telling me." With that, I scooted past him and made my way to the stairs, making sure to shift my hips seductively. I knew that kind of thing drove him crazy, but I didn't look back at him to make sure, just pranced up the stairs.

Before I closed the door, Sam's laughter drifted up the stairs to my ears. "Yeah, you just got smoked, Dean."

"Ah, shaddup, Sammy," Dean groused.

XXX

The nightmares weren't as surprising this time, but I could feel that these were ones that would be nearly impossible to change. I watched as Lucifer rose from his cage. I watched as Sam drank the demon blood then said yes to the Devil. I watched as the world exploded with blood and horror.

I jerked awake, whimpering. My chest heaved as I gazed around the room Bobby had given me. I hadn't screamed or thrashed this time. It was weird, but I was utterly relieved knowing Dean hadn't suffered along with me.

Parts of my vision were unchangeable. That much I knew. Those were the ones that were almost too bright to look at, like where Lucifer rose from the cage.

I swallowed hard against the bile rising in my throat. Nothing we did would change that. Here I was, a person from another dimension that knew in advance what would happen, and I still couldn't change it.

A frustrated growl erupted from my throat, and I sat up, the book face-down on my chest sliding into my lap. I glared down at the book. What was I doing here if I couldn't make a difference? I hurled the book across the room, not feeling satisfied at the loud thud it gave as it hit the wall then landed on the floor.

"What the hell is he doing up there?" came Bobby's muffled voice from downstairs.

I couldn't understand it—I was _pissed_. My hands grabbed at anything I could get at, and flung it at the opposite wall.

"WHAT IS THE POINT OF ME COMING HERE IF I CAN'T CHANGE A DAMN THING!?" I screamed at the ceiling, chucking a lamp at the wall next. It cracked and fell to the floor in pieces.

"Riley?" Dean called through the door, the handle jiggling.

I vaguely remembered locking it when I came up here earlier, to taunt Dean. Now all I wanted to do was punch something—some _one_ , to take out my frustration, anger, and homesickness on.

I wanted my baby sister.

But even if I could go back to my dimension, she wasn't there, she was dead.

"I'm so sorry, Gabby," I sobbed, the sudden onslaught of tears nearly choking me. I grabbed a chair just as the door got kicked open. I threw it, watching it smash into the wall, then collapsed in a crying heap. "Gabby…"

"Riley, shhh, it's okay. We're here…" He tried to wrap his arms around me, but I kept squirming away.

"Dean…he trashed the room."

"I'll clean it up, Bobby." Beat of silence, save for my sobbing, and the sounds my fists made against the floor. "Go on back downstairs. You don't need to see this."

Bobby grunted, his footsteps heading back down the hallway.

"Riley," came Dean's voice again, softer, so tender it made a fresh wave of tears erupt. My whole body shook. "Shit, what happened?"

"I don't have my meds here!" I croaked. It felt like my throat was closing from panic. _Dammit, this always happens!_ "I-I c-can't breathe…" My words got wheezier.

"Riley, breathe with me," Dean whispered in my ear, holding me tight against his chest. I fought against him, lungs feeling constricted. "C'mon, babe. Breathe."

I gasped, sputtering for breath. "N-no…leave…me alon-ne…." I kept fighting to get free.

"Riley, calm down. Please," he begged.

Finally, I slumped against him, defeated. "I-I-I…"

Dean rocked me gently, humming an unfamiliar tune in my ear.

Gulping back a sob, "I don't deserve any of this. I'm a h-horrible person, Dean, I—"

"Stop right there," he cut me off, manhandling me so I was facing him. He looked into my eyes. "You deserve to be happy, Riley. And you're not a horrible person."

My face screwed up from my years old agony, tears still trickling down my cheeks. "Dean, my baby sister is _dead_. I didn't watch her close enough, and she died. God brought me here, but from the looks of my visions, nothing I do is gonna change anything! What is the point of my existence?" my hands gripped his shirt, and I rested my forehead against his chest, gasping through the tears. "Everything I touch…something always happens! I'm poison—"

"If anyone is poison, it's me," Dean soothed.

I shook my head at him. "If crossroad demons existed in my world, I would've made a deal."

Dean stilled. "What." His voice was flat, emotionless.

"Gabby shouldn't have died…" I rasped, clutching him tighter. He was so warm, so comforting to my cold, tainted body. "She was only _fifteen_. Why, God?" I sobbed again. " _Why did she have to_ _ **die**_ _?_ "

"Riley, please tell me you're not still considering making a deal…"

I tensed at the hoarseness of his voice. "Not really…I just…" pulling back, I didn't look him in the eye. "She was my responsibility, and I fucked up. Majorly."

"Shit happens sometimes, and you can't always help it," Dean pulled me back in, rocking me again.

"You made a deal for Sam," I pointed out petulantly, poking him in the arm.

"Yeah, I did," he sighed, now caressing my head. "I didn't know what I was signing up for, though."

"But you'd do it again."

"In a heartbeat."

"Then why is it wrong for me to have considered it?"

"So, you're _not_ thinking about doing it now?"

"You didn't answer my question, Dean," I snapped. He'd annoyed me now, and I wasn't going to let him distract me.

Dean rested his chin on my head. "You really have to ask…" His hold on me changed. It felt…tender, soft, gentle…intimate, really. "Riley, you are my other half. If you made a deal…I'd want to die." He snorted humorlessly at himself. "Yeah. That sounds melodramatic, but it—"

"Me too," I choked out, hugging him hard. "Me too, Dean."

XXX

We never told a word of what transpired in my room to either Bobby or Sam. When Dean piggy-backed me down the stairs, Sam asked us what was going on, and Dean merely grabbed my hand, twining our fingers together, and told Sam nicely, but under no uncertain terms, butt out.

After that, Dean had pulled me outside to tutor me on Baby's engine. As he put it, since we were partners, I had a right to helping with Baby. Sam thought that was stupid, but he immediately fell silent at the excited way I bounced on the balls of my feet, chirping about how cool the Impala was.

I mostly watched Dean as he changed Baby's oil, checked the other fluids, and measured the air in the tires. Then he turned and smirked at me.

"Baby needs a bath. Wanna help?"

Raising an eyebrow at him, I said, "D'ya have to make that sound so suggestive?"

He merely laughed. We both hunted down a couple buckets, sponges, some clean rags, and car soap. I volunteered to get the grime down low to the ground so Dean could get the roof and windshields. We were about hallway through when I felt something warm trickle over my head and down my neck. Suds fell from my head to the floor.

My eye twitched in annoyance. _Did he seriously just…_

"Looks like you were in a snowstorm," Dean said, the laughter clear in his voice.

Without warning, I scooped up a glob of suds, and threw it right in his face. He was standing right next to me, so it was hard to miss. I giggled gleefully at his sputtering. Dashing to the other side of the car, I peeked over the roof at him, smirking.

"You really wanna start a water fight with _me_ , Dean?"

Thus, began the fiercest car wash water fight I'd ever been in. Dean won in the end, dumping a bucket of sudsy water over my head, making me yelp as the cold water made its way down my body. I frowned teasingly at him, and stripped off my black hoodie, making note of the spark of desire that flared in his eyes when he saw how my wet, grey t-shirt clung to me. My jeans, also black and skinny, had darkened with the water.

"Dean—"

He smashed his mouth against mine, silencing me except for my surprised and laughing gasp. "You have no idea what you do to me…" he growled, moving his mouth down my neck to my pulse, nipping at it. "Such a little tease."

"No, I'm _not_ ," I said weakly, clinging dazedly to his shoulders.

Our mouths met again. I felt the car door of Baby against my back as Dean pressed me hard against it, one arm holding me up, his other hand resting against Baby. Heart racing, blood singing in my veins, body trembling from head to toe, I felt a hot wave of desire course thorough me. Dean apparently felt it, too, cuz the next I knew, his hand was under my shirt, playing with the waistband of my jeans on my back. Delicious little shivers went up my spine as his fingers made contact with my bare skin.

"Dean…" I breathed, his spare hand pulling my neckline down so he could get at the skin there. He sucked hard, drawing a breathy sigh from my lips.

"Riley," he murmured, his hot breath tickling my skin.

My fingers carded through his hair softly, resting on the back of his neck. He brought his face back up to mine, gently pressing his lips against mine again.

"Dean, do you believe in super-short engagements?"

He pulled back, looking at me as if I'd just spoke in a funny language that wasn't Latin. "What?" I could only look at him. I had no idea what my expression was, but whatever I looked like it made a low flush appear on his face, his green eyes darkening. "So…you're one of those purity ring kind of kids."

I licked my dry lips, my heart skipping a bet as he movement drew his gaze back down to my mouth. "I believe in waiting for marriage. But," I smirked as he whipped his gaze back up to my eyes, confusion clear on his face. "You are seriously wearing my patience thin, Dean. So, if we're ever gonna do anything, you'd better marry me, and _**soon**_."

He studied my face for a bit, quietly and seriously. He swallowed hard. "Um…okay."

I blinked. "Hm?"

"But you're gonna have to wait for me to propose," he continued, a soft smile gracing his lips. He kissed my forehead as his words were still sinking in. "And, Darling? How and when I do that will be a surprise."

"I still have the body of a girl, Dean," I told him bluntly, my face warming. "Does that…does that disgust you?" Even I could hear the worry in my voice.

He kissed my fears away, making me melt all over again. "Sweetheart, you're you, no matter what gender you are. I love you the same."

I stiffened as he froze at his own words. "Dean…"

"Ah…" He choked.

"Do you really mean that?" I begged, burying my face in his chest. _Please, mean it._

He set me on my feet, wrapping his arms around me in a comforting hug. "Even though I said it without thinking, yes, I meant it."

That made the tears fall. I silently sobbed into his already wet shirt, unable to believe that such a wonderful guy could love a freak like me. "W-why? Why would you love a freak like _me_?"

I could hear the frown in his voice. "Why would you think you're a freak? You, Riley Campbell, soon-to-be Winchester-" that made me giggle "-are a special, caring, self-less, _sexy_ guy that I am honored to be in a relationship with. And the fact that you're willing to marry an idiot like me? That says a lot."

"Who's being hard on himself now?" I mumbled.

"Who called you a freak?"

" _ **Nobody**_ …"

"Riley."

"Ugh…my brother, Michael."

"Darling, your brother sounds like a jackass," he growled. Dean place his hand under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His green eyes shone with love, rooting me to the spot. "He obviously didn't know the real you. If anyone's a freak, it's him."

My heart kept doing its funny little rhythms in my chest from his words. "Dean…"

He rested his forehead against mine, smiling at me. "Yeah?"

"I-I love you, too."

 **So? So?**

 **Waddya think?**

 **No, they're not gonna tie the knot in the next chapter. I'm not gonna have things happen** _ **that**_ **fast, lol~**

 **Besides, Dean's gotta get a ring, they've gotta make papers for Riley, and figure out who's gonna perform the ceremony for them. (I'm thinking Cas. He seems like a good choice.)**

 **Do you think I should add someone in for Sam? Another OC? Or should I bring back someone? Hmmm…. Jess? Madison? Sarah?**

 **I'm not really good with writing shonen-ai or yaoi. I myself am asexual aromantic, so it's difficult enough for me to imagine romance with a girlXboy couple. I have absolutely no experience whatsoever with same-sex couples, what with being a cisgender girl, so bear with me. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT WORKS WITH TWO GUYS!**

 **And I don't write explicit sex scenes, so that's why I won't raise my rating to M. The worst (or best; depends on how you view it, haha) I will do is a heavy make-out session.**

 **Sorry.**

 **I know how I'm going to fix the pesky Lilith problem, so the next few chapters shouldn't take too long.** **Shouldn't** **being the keyword, haha.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Allonsy~**

 **Eli**


	7. Chapter 7

**I got this done way faster than I thought I would. O.O Who knew? I can't even really believe how soon I'm updating this fic! I'm usually** **really** **behind…**

 **Sheesh.**

 **So, here's chapter seven. I'm haven't started the next one yet, but it's in the planning stages in my head. I've decided not to use the episode with Jack, where he morphs into the human flesh eater thing…don't remember what his kind of monster was called, sowwy!**

 **Anyhoo, without further ado, here is the chapter.**

 **Allonsy,**

 **Eli**

"…and she hasn't called back or anything," Bobby was saying.

I rubbed at one eye, yawning as I trudged into the kitchen. Dean wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pressing a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

"Hey there, sleepyhead."

"Hmm," I mumbled, wrapping both my arms around his middle and turning to press my face into his side. "Who hasn't called back or anything?"

"Olivia Lowry," Bobby answered, sounding fatigued and irritated. "A Hunter I know."

I stiffened. We were too late.

"What's wrong, Riley?"

"Dean, I know what happened to her," I said softly, though my eyes were locked with Bobby's.

Dean's hands rubbed comforting circles into my back. They all waited for me to speak.

"The Witnesses have risen. The Seal has been broken."

XXX

"I'm not going in there," I stated firmly, glowering at the front of Olivia's house. I knew what was waiting in there, and I didn't want to see that poor woman torn up on the floor.

"You don't have to," Dean spoke up before the others could. I frowned as Sam and Bobby exchanged an amused look. _Dorks_. "Just stay here and keep an eye on Baby. Holler if you need anything."

"Mm-hmm," I hummed, letting my hip rest against Baby, folding my arms.

Watching as they went into the house, I dreaded the fact that Bobby was gonna find one of his friends lying there dead. Nobody deserved to die like that, but we had been too late to stop Lilith from breaking the Seal.

 _Dammit…_

XXX

 **Dean's POV**

He glanced out the window at Riley, feeling odd about leaving him outside by himself and basically unprotected. What if one of those Witness spirits came along and hurt him while Dean wasn't there?

He noticed Olivia lying on the other side of the room, her chest torn open and a pool of blood around her. "Bobby?"

Bobby turned and walked back out the door.

"Salt line," Sam said, pointing at the doorway.

"Yeah," Dean sighed. He picked up the EMF reader he spotted, sitting with Olivia's other Hunting gear. "Olivia was rocking the EMF meter."

"Spirit activity."

"Yeah, on steroids. I've never seen a ghost do this to a person."

Bobby waked back inside, his expression sorrowful and angry. "I just got done talking to Riley. Other Hunters are dead, not just Olivia. He said there's a spell back at my house we can do to send these guys back where they came from."

Dean perked. Riley had come to their rescue again with his foreknowledge. "Awesome. Let's get going, then."

XXX

 **Riley's POV**

I startled awake when the car door slammed shut. Groggily, I turned my head to see an empty driver's seat where Sam had been sitting before I dozed off. Dean was still fast asleep in the back. Sighing, I scrubbed my hands over my face, and forced my eyes to focus back on the notebook in my lap.

Since I was the Prophet, and I was supposed to write the Winchester books, I was writing down everything that had happened to me since I arrived. So far, I was up to the point where I first met Bobby face-to-face.

A dizzy feeling washed over me, as the scene in the bathroom with Sam and Henriksen from the show flashed through my mind. My hand found my seat buckle and I ripped myself from the car, bursting into the restroom just as Henriksen bashed Sam's face onto the porcelain sink.

"רוח, נעלמים. אין כאן יותר נזק." I rattled off the small spell I'd found in an odd book while waiting for the boys at Olivia's house. Henriksen glowered at me before vanishing.

Sam groaned. "W-what…was that you…said…"

"Hebrew spell. Temporary banishment thingy," I muttered, helping him to his feet. My mouth screwed up in sympathy at the cuts and bruises on his face. "You shouldn't need stitches, but you might want some ice."

"I'm fine," he said firmly, wincing as I prodded at one big gash above his eye.

"Hmph. _Sure_ you are." The sarcasm was thick in my voice. "You Winchesters, always gotta be big men. Can't show a little pain. Thing is," I grabbed some paper towel, got it wet at the sink, and started dabbing away the blood. "If you take care of the little pains, they won't grow into bigger ones. We'll bandage this in the car, and you'll take some Ibuprofen or something for the headache you're gonna have."

Sam just looked at me, his expression unreadable.

I quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…" he gave a small, lop-sided smile. "You seem more at ease around me now."

"Oh, brother," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I'm fine around you, Sam." Turning away, I threw the bloody paper towels into the garbage can.

"I know you didn't like me at first. I heard you with Dean, the first night."

I froze.

His voice was soft, sad, as he continued. "I don't really blame you…what with everything you already knew about me. The demon blood, the secrecy, and—"

"Sam, shut up." I whirled on him, his face full of shock. "That's not why I was _uneasy_ , okay? It's not what you did. I don't _care_ about that."

He nodded, waiting for me to finish.

"Ummm…" I looked away. "I…have a brother. Michael. He's older than me, and…well, not very nice to me because of my gender identity issues." A bitter laugh escaped me. Not very nice was sugar-coating it till it had cavities. "Thing is…you look a lot like him, so…"

" _That's_ why you act so weird sometimes…" he realized, staring at me. "And why you cringe when I'm mad."

I made a face at him. "I can't help it! For a second, it's like I'm seeing Michael. He's tall, got long-ish brown hair like you, and he's strong. I-I just get mixed up sometimes, that's all."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop that," I shook my head, pressing dry paper towels to his cuts. "It's not your fault. Besides," I placed his hand over the towels, and headed for the door. "I'm here now. I don't have to worry about him anymore."

"Does Dean know about Michael?" Sam asked, the raging curiosity obvious in his voice.

"Yes," I sighed, turning back to him. "I told him—"

"What's taking so long, you two?"

Dean's voice right behind me made me jump and yelp. I spun, staring at him. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

He smirked at me. The smirk faded when he saw his brother's face. "What'd you two do, go a couple rounds?"

"With Henriksen," I grumbled, folding my arms as Dean checked Sam's wounds.

He whipped his head around to stare at me. "What?! Henriksen was _here_?"

"Witnesses, Dean," I reminded him gently. "Remember, we're dealing with the Witnesses."

He shook his head, groaning. "Damn…he sure did a number on you, Sammy."

"Yeah," Sam breathed a small laugh. "Lucky for me, Riley came to the rescue."

"Riley's been doing that a lot," Dean agreed. They both looked at me.

I shrugged and left the restroom, unable to handle the praise and warm looks they were giving me. "If you two don't hurry up, I'm gonna _walk_ the rest of the way to Bobby's house."

XXX

Bobby and I searched through his papers on his desk, frantic to find the spell to send the spirits back before they attacked us. Sam and Dean stood guard with their salt rounds, standing right at the edge of the salt line Dean had poured around us and the desk, keeping us safe from the angry spirits.

A movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned, and couldn't help staring. There stood Meg Masters, her hair to her shoulders, darker than the blonde it had been when she'd been possessed. Her eyes were fixed on me, an expression of curiosity and malevolence on her face.

"You're new," she finally said.

"And you're Meg Masters," I responded, bending back down over the desk to shuffle through the papers. _Where is it?_

"Gonna try to shut us away, hm?"

"No trying about it," I snapped, whirling on her. We stood practically toe-to-toe on either side of the salt line. "We _will_ send you back."

"Meg?"

Meg turned, a not-so-reassuring smile on her face. "Yeah, it's me, Dean."

Dean's eyes took her in, confusion on his face.

"This is what I looked like before that demon cut off my hair and dressed me like a slut." She cocked her head, staring at him, then Sam. "Nice to finally talk to you when I'm not, you know, choking on my own blood."

"It's not their fault that demon jumped you," I hissed, drawing her attention back to me.

"Maybe not," she agreed, nodding. Then her eyes narrowed. "But it _**is**_ their fault about the way I died. I mean, seriously?" She turned to Sam. "Who throws girls off of buildings?"

"Meg—"

She cut him off angrily. "That demon jumped me while I was walking home one night, and the next thing you know, I'm a prisoner," she tapped her head. "in here. I was awake the whole time. I had to watch while she murdered people. When you guys caught up with us, I was screaming at you! 'Just help me, please!' You're supposed to help people, Sam, Dean. Why didn't you help _me_?"

"They did. You might be dead, but at least you died _free_. They sent that demon back to Hell," I ground out before the guys could say anything. This girl, even though she was brought back against her will, was starting to piss me off. "Why don't you stop trying to send them on a guilt-trip, and let us put you back to rest so you can be at peace?"

"Why should I? I'm not at peace right now, so neither should they be."

"Bitch," I muttered without thinking.

"You're not the one who was ridden by pure evil for months! You're not the one who left behind a broken little sister, who eventually killed herself!"

I stiffened. "No… _I'm_ the one who got abused by pure evil. _I'm_ the one who got left behind." I turned and looked her right in the eye, ignoring Dean's and Sam's horrified expressions from the next words out of my mouth. " _I'm_ the one who tried to kill myself, because I couldn't go on without her. She was dead, and here I was, alive and breathing. But I couldn't even commit suicide right," I breathed a small, humorless chuckle, shaking my head. My hand gripped the paper I'd finally found tighter, and I shot her a triumphant look.

Then I noticed the others behind her: Henriksen, Ronald, and the twin girls.

 _Shit to the double power._

"Dean, Sam, get your guns ready," Bobby commanded, as he and I started setting up the desk for the spell. "Riley is gonna have to make some runs for the ingredients we need while I work this spell."

"I'll get the red box from the linen closet first," I piped up.

Bobby stared at me a split-second before shaking his head. "I keep forgetting you already know what we're gonna be doing."

I shrugged, smiling slightly. Then I threw a handful of salt at Meg and the girls, they flickered out, and I made a mad dash for the stairs, Sam right behind me, covering my back. There were a couple gunshots from Dean taking care of Henriksen and Ronald. I headed right for the closet, opening it and grabbing the box. Turning back to the stairs, I froze. Sam had his gun aimed right at Meg.

"Y'know what pisses me off Sam? You saw how I suffered for months. I thought you must have learned something. I thought I died for something."

Sam sounded strangled. "Meg…"

"But what you were doing with that demon, Ruby…how many innocent bodies has Ruby burned through for kicks? How many girls just like me? And you never tried to send her back to Hell?" She snarled, stepping closer. "You're a monster!"

I saw the impact those words had on Sam, how he flinched as if she'd used her fists. From personal experience, I knew how hurtful, how damaging words could be. Words had power. The power to heal and help, give hope. Or they had the power to cut down, to hurt, destroy.

I shoved the box at Sam, grabbing the gun and aiming it at her. "The only monster I see up here is _you_ , Meg!" With that, I shot her with the salt round, causing her to vanish. I pulled Sam along behind me to the stairs. "C'mon, we gotta get back to the circle before she re-materializes!"

We were loud running down the stairs, not stopping till we got back to the desk. I handed the box over to Bobby, and the gun back to Sam.

I frowned. Where was Dean?

Then I caught movement in the kitchen. Not waiting for Sam, I dashed inside, halting when I nearly ran into the spirit of Henriksen. I stared. Deep down, I knew I should've waited for Sam.

Dean, trapped against the counter, stared at me in shock. "Riley, get out of here!"

For some reason, I couldn't move. Then I realized why: Meg had her hands on my arms, using her supernatural strength to hold me there.

"Let me go!" I hissed, twisting and turning, struggling to break free to no avail.

"This is only fair, Dean," Henriksen said conversationally, shoving Dean hard against the counter. "We all lost people important to us. Because of you."

Before I could do or say anything, I felt something icy cold, yet at the same time like liquid fire, get shoved into my back, and I arched at the pain, a garbled scream ripping its way free of my throat.

"No! Please, hurt me, not Riley! Meg, don't hurt him!"

Somewhere in my pain-focused brain, I knew Meg had just shoved her hand in me, and was going to kill me like those other Hunters had been killed. She'd rip my chest open and let me bleed out on the floor.

Right in front of Dean.

I jerked at her hold, still screaming, though now I was screaming actual _words_.

"LET _**GO**_ OF ME YOU BITCH!"

I pushed with my feet, sending us both tumbling backwards. She vanished right before we could hit the ground, and the back of my head hit the wooden floor hard enough for me to see stars. I lay there, gasping, shivering from the intense pain. Something wet and sticky was on the floor under me, and I hazily knew my back was bleeding. I attempted to sit up, but white-hot pain shooting through my back had me falling back on the floor with a low cry of pain, blood bubbling up my throat and choking me as I struggled to breathe.

A gunshot brought me back to the present. I gazed up at the slowly dimming ceiling, my head spinning from the loss of blood. How long had I been on the floor?

"Riley, hey," Sam said soothingly. He hissed at something. "Oh, man, this is bad. Dean? You want me to carry him? I mean…he really shouldn't be moved."

"It's not like we can leave him here and put a salt circle around him, Sam," Dean growled, his voice tight with an emotion I could not figure out in my current state. "I'll take care of him. You guard Bobby."

"D…Deannnn…." I groaned, forcing my eyes open again. When had they closed? I couldn't remember.

His green eyes were there, gazing down into mine. He made an attempt at giving me a reassuring smile. "Hey there, sweetheart. I know it hurts, but we're gonna move you to the other room, okay?"

As an answer, I forced my arms to move, and lifted them up to wrap them around his neck. He gently scooped one arm under my knees, snaking the other under my back, and lifted me up. My head fell against his shoulder with a low groan of pain. Black spots kept dancing around the corners of my vision. Not a good sign.

"I see…black spots…" I stumbled over my words, my mouth feeling thick and clumsy. _How much blood am I losing?_ "G'na pass out…soooonnnnnn…" I jerked my head a bit, trying to stay awake.

"No passing out on me just yet, babe," Dean murmured, settling me against the desk as carefully as he could.

"…try…" I managed to whisper, locking my gaze with his. My body felt so heavy, I could barely move. The loss of blood made my brain all jumbled. I couldn't think clearly at all.

 _Cas…Help Dean_ … I prayed inside my head, my eyes slipping shut again. _Help…him…_

XXX

The bright sunlight had me shutting my eyes. I never did like the morning sun. I was strictly a night person.

"Riley?"

I spoke without opening my eyes. "Too damn bright."

A soft, relieved chuckle met my ears along with a rustling sound in the background. "Okay, it's safe now."

I slowly opened my eyes again, blinking a couple times as my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room. My eyes zeroed in on Dean kneeling next to the bed. On the other side was Sam, turning away from the window.

Sam smiled. "Glad to see you awake, Riley. You feeling okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, then frowned. "What happened?"

"Meg was hurting you, and I couldn't get to you in time," Dean said thickly, his hand finding mine and squeezing slightly. "I'm so sorry."

"Oh," I breathed, the horrible events from before I passed out flooding through my brain. "Yeah, I remember now. But my back doesn't hurt…."

"I made sure you would feel no pain," came a gravelly voice from the doorway.

My eyes flickered between Dean, Sam, and Cas. "Huh…what…"

"You don't remember praying for me?" the Angel asked, tilting his head.

My brow furrowed in concentration. I tried to think, tried to remember, but all I got was a headache. "Must've been right before I passed out, Cas. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. That prayer alerted me to your fight, and I'm glad I was able to help. Although," he looked at me in confusion. "Why did you ask me to help Dean?"

I stared back at him. "Um…I don't remember, Cas…Probably because the Witnesses were trying to tear us all apart."

"They only managed to get anywhere with you, Riley," Sam said softly, leaning against the wall and folding his arms. His eyes were full of concern for me.

"I was in _pain_! I was bleeding all over the floor! How do you expect me to remember what exactly was going through my mind when I was going through all that?" I demanded, flinging an arm over my eyes. "So, they didn't get Dean?"

"I think Henriksen was about to, but you came in and startled him," Dean answered, rubbing the pad of his thumb over my knuckles. "Babe, it's awesome that you keep coming to our rescue. But I think you need to be more careful next time. If Cas hadn't gotten there when he did…" he trailed off, not putting into words what I already knew.

"But I'm okay now, right?" I moved my arm off my eyes and looked at Cas for confirmation.

He nodded. "Yes, though you will have a scar on your back from the ordeal. I couldn't get rid of it for some reason. I'm sorry you went through such a traumatic experience, Riley. You didn't deserve that."

My face warmed at that. "Th-thanks, Cas."

His eyes narrowed. "You don't believe me." Before I could say anything, he continued, "Why is it that you and Dean don't believe you deserve happiness? That you don't deserve pain? I've never seen such strange humans before."

I managed a laugh. "Because we're self-loathing humans, Cas."

"You shouldn't hate yourself, Riley." The Angel turned on an unsuspecting Dean. "That includes you too, Dean."

"I didn't say anything!" he squawked.

"You never do," Sam muttered, smirking at Dean's glare.

"Did Bobby finish the spell?" I asked, my gaze on Dean.

"Yup. Right before Cas arrived."

I sent Cas a knowing look. _Dear Castiel who is in this very room, I know you knew about this whole fight way before I prayed to you. I won't tell Dean, but I will tell you this: I know what the other Angels are planning, and that I WILL tell him._ "That's good. No more Witnesses." I gave Dean a bright smile.

He grinned back. "Yup!"

Cas, however, merely gazed at me with surprise, and annoyance. Then I heard his voice in my head.

 _Do_ _ **not**_ _attempt to threaten me, Riley. I'm not here to perch on a human's shoulder. I am a warrior, and I will obey my superiors._

I hugged Dean, and glared at Cas over his shoulder.

 _Watch me, feather-butt. After all, I know how this ends in my world, and I'm_ _ **not**_ _gonna let that happen here._

XXX

Dean and Sam found a case, a simple salt and burn, in the next state, so the three of us took off the next morning to handle it. Since I was unfortunately still pretty weak from the whole Witnesses ordeal – and I was pretty sure Cas did that on purpose, what with me threatening to spill the beans to Dean – Sam and Dean made me stay put in the motel room. Bobby stayed at his house, still working on a way to take down Lilith.

It wasn't until the morning after the salt and burn, I woke up to Dean talking with someone. I turned over to face him, and found myself glowering at Cas. He narrowed his eyes back at me for a second, as if warning me not to try anything.

"I couldn't change anything, and you sent me back anyway," Dean said bitterly, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from me.

"Did you send him back so he could see the demon deal Mary made with Azazel?" I asked, an undertone of acid leaking through.

"He had to see there was nothing he could do to change her destiny."

"God gave us free will, right?" I yawned, wriggling across the bed till I could maneuver my head on Dean's lap. "What's he expect us to do with it if everything is planned out by Angels?" I shot Cas a look.

He actually looked sad. "I don't like what happened to their family any more than you do. But there's nothing I can do to change it. I'm sorry."

"Being sorry doesn't really help, Cas," Sam said from behind me.

Cas shook his head. "How are you progressing with your plan to stop Lilith?"

I didn't know if this was Cas just trying to change the subject, or if he was trying to find out information for his superiors. "It's going pretty slow, to be honest," I answered, looking at him questioningly.

"Please, let me know if I can help," he told us, giving me a sharp nod.

I studied his face for a moment before realizing he meant it. "Okay. Will do."

Maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to get him out of the clutches of the Archangel Michael and that toad Zachariah earlier than I thought.

 **That's all I've got for now. I managed to type this chapter out within two days. Hmm…pretty good record for me, lol.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Over and out and Allonsy,**

 **Eli**

 **P.S I remembered what Jack was: a rougarou. But I'm still not putting that in here. Lol~**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, hey, hey! Chapter eight is here!**

 **This took me about the same amount of time as the last chapter to write. Honestly? This one was pretty easy to write, like it wanted to be written.**

 **Okay, so this chapter is based on the episode: Monster Movie. I hope you guys like it. ^-^**

 **Maybe someday I'll make a Riley Campbell cosplay. Waddya guys think? An OC cosplay! Lol~~**

 **Allonsy,**

 **Eli**

I knew exactly what we were going to find when we got to Oktoberfest in Pennsylvania. My brain hurt from thinking through all the details of the episode _Monster Movie_ from my dimension. My eyelids kept drooping, whole body lethargic and heavy from spending so much time in the car. It didn't help that my back was still stiff from Meg jamming her fist through it.

Sucks being a Hunter sometimes.

"I've been thinking…"

Sam peered over the backrest at Dean. "Yeah?"

"Shouldn't we have Riley get an anti-possession tattoo?"

I grunted at that. "No need." I could feel their questioning stares. Rolling my eyes, I pulled down the neckline of my shirt, showing them the left side of my upper chest. There, black and proud, was my anti-possession tattoo. "Got it for my twenty-third birthday. Told you in the beginning, I was a huge fan of the show. Even went to a Supernatural convention once. Shook Misha Collins' hand. He liked my tattoo." I smiled at the memory. I'd cosplayed as Dean, and Misha immediately got into character, talking to me as if he was really Cas. Never knew it would be so much fun to roleplay with him, though I'd felt guilty cuz I'd really wanted to talk to Jensen, but he'd been called away.

"What the hell is a Misha?"

I laughed, smirking at Dean. "Misha Collins. He's the actor that portrays Castiel on the show. If there's ever a way to swing it, I'll have to get the box sets from my dimension so you guys can watch it."

Dean grimaced. "Yeah, a show that has mine and Sam's lives laid bare for everyone to see? Not really interested."

"I think you'd enjoy the gag reels," I giggled, shifting in my seat. My back twinged, and I shifted again, trying to get comfortable. "Oh, I also have another Supernatural-based tattoo." Without waiting for their questions, I lifted the hem of my shirt up, and showed Dean the Angelic warding tattoo I'd gotten on the left side of my abdomen, right under my ribcage. I'd always loved the Enochian sigils. "This one I got a week after my anti-possession tattoo. Cost me a bundle for both of them, but they were worth it. This one's supposed to ward me from the Angels, unless I pray. In the show, Castiel got this when he…" I trailed off, frowning to myself. Was it possible I could change things so Cas never became human?

"When Cas…what?"

I looked back at Sam. "Because of events I'm not gonna tell you about yet, he was human, and had to ward himself against the other Angels cuz they wanted to kill him."

Then I noticed Dean was still staring at my tattoo. "Damn, Riley…I never noticed those. How'd I miss the anti-possession one?"

Sam groaned dramatically from the backset. "I really don't wanna know everything that goes on between you two, Dean."

"Shaddup, Sammy. We were only making out, not getting naked," Dean shot back, smirking at his brother in the rearview.

And got a bitchface in return.

XXX

"The radio around here sucks," Dean grumbled, fiddling with the dials. Finally, he sighed and switched it off.

"Mm-hmm," I hummed, drumming my fingers on my leg. Sam's laptop was on my lap, since I'd forgotten mine at Bobby's house, and I'd been typing everything I'd written down in my notebook so far. When I had enough for the first novel, I was gonna send it off to a publisher. Might as well do things like Chuck would've, right?

"Are you still typing?" He glanced at me, brow furrowing in irritation.

I wrinkled my nose at him. "I'm only doing my job, Dean."

"What about the times before you met us?" Sam piped up, leaning over the back so he could read what I'd done so far. "Are those gonna be put into a book, too?"

"I'm writing those simultaneously," I answered with a huge yawn. "You guys figure out what the monster here is, or do you need me to tell you?"

Sam muffled a laugh at Dean's moody expression. "You can tell us. Make our job a bit easier."

"Shapeshifter," I said, squinting back down at the screen. I'd just gotten to the part where Cas told me I was the Prophet on one document, and on the other I was finishing up the Wendigo case. "He's taking the forms of famous black-and-white movie monsters and creating his own movie life shit. There's this girl, Jamie, who works as a bar wench or whatever, and he likes her. Her friend, Lucy? That's another form of the shifter."

Dean sighed.

I looked over at him, grasping his hand and squeezing it lightly. "I'll point it out to you. Just no ganking it in front of people." I snickered at my words. "I'm pretty sure they'd accuse _us_ of being the monsters."

Sam patted my shoulder, then settled back in his seat. "Dean can be professional when he has to be."

"Shut it, Bitch."

"Make me, Jerk."

I didn't spout anything in Latin this time, just shook my head and chuckled at them. "You two are a couple of chuckleheads."

Beat of confused silence.

"Chuckleheads?" Dean mumbled.

Sam burst out laughing.

XXX

I sat on the bench, typing as fast as my fingers could go. The cramps in my hands kept getting worse, but I couldn't stop, the story spilling from my fingertips. I'd already finished most of the books from before I'd came upon the scene. Now I was mostly focusing on the part where I'd ran to Dean's aid, only to get caught by Meg in the kitchen. I frowned to myself. I was glad the Witness mess was over.

"Hey, Riley."

I looked up, pausing in my typing to smile up at Dean. "How'd things go?"

He made a face. "Just like you said. Stereotypical vampire fang marks in the vic's neck, body drained of blood. This is one hell of a shapeshifter."

"He admires the old movie monsters," I said, as if that explained everything. My eyes went back to the screen, hands hovering over the keyboard.

"You gonna write those books all day, or you gonna come help us?" He murmured, his mouth now at my ear.

It was really hard to concentrate on responding when he was mouthing at the skin behind my ear. "Y-yeah…I'm coming. Just let me save my work."

"I'm impressed you managed to get Sam to lend you his laptop," Dean said, hugging me from behind.

"What, is he like Golem with his precious?" I laughed.

Dean snorted. "No joke about it, babe."

"You looking for Ed Brewer now, right?" I asked without looking at him. I was too busy making sure my writing got saved. Closing the laptop, I leaned back against him, closing my eyes. "He's at the bar right now, ordering a huge thing of beer. Poor guy's all shook up over what he saw."

Dean kissed my cheek, then straightened up, grabbing my hand. "C'mon, mister I-know-everything, let's get a move on before that monster shivs someone else."

I made a face. "You're so romantic."

"I aim to please," he teased me, smirking.

Rolling my eyes, I allowed him to pull me off the bench and lead me over to Sam, who was watching us with an amused expression. I looked at him, daring him to say something.

"You two are so adorable together," he singsonged, dodging when Dean tried to hit him. He grinned.

Dean scowled. "Stop it. We gotta find Ed now, not listen to you poke fun at us."

Dean took off, leaving me and Sam behind to grin at each other. "He's so shy."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Even though it was true, I wasn't going to risk Dean hearing me laugh. Sam and I followed him into the bar. Both of them looked at me expectantly, and I scanned the people's faces.

"There," I said, spotting him at a corner table. "He's over there." I looked up at Dean. "What am I supposed to do? I don't have any fake IDs."

"Have a drink or something," he answered, ruffling my hair affectionately. I frowned and attempted to comb my hair with my fingers. "We'll find you when we're done. You got your cell?"

I gestured to the laptop case hanging off my shoulder. "In here."

"If we don't see you, we'll call your phone," he told me, leaning closer. "Keep it off vibrate, hm?"

"Th-that was _one time_!" My face went hot at the squeakiness of my voice. _Good grief, I sound like Mickey Mouse…_

Sam snorted. "Yeah, no, more like three times. Just keep it on ring this time, please?"

I glared at both of them. "I'm not a child, you two. You can find me at the bar." With that, I turned on my heel and was only able to take a couple of steps before Dean's arm snaked around my waist, drawing my back against his chest. "D-Dean!"

"I know you're not a child," he said lowly in my ear, causing shivers to go up my spine. "But, like you've already seen with Sammy, I'm kinda protective. So deal with it, hun." He kissed the back of my neck and let me loose.

I stood there for a split-second, stunned stupid from that one little kiss. Then I shook myself, mentally and literally, and continued to the bar. Settling into a seat, I smiled warmly at Jamie, who was standing behind the counter.

"Hi. What can I order that doesn't have a lot of alcohol in it?"

She smiled back. "I could make a mix for you."

"Sounds good." I dug the credit card Dean gave me that day out of my pocket. "Just make it nice and sweet, please."

"What flavor would you like?"

"Ummm…" I pursed my lips, thinking.

"We have peppermint, strawberry, raspberry, cherry…" she listed a few other flavors.

"Raspberry, with a hint of the vanilla, please," I requested with another smile.

While she put my drink together, I brought the laptop back out and got right back to typing the books. I'd taken writing courses at college back in my own dimension, so the structure, grammar, and action wasn't hard for me. My plan had to been a novelist, writing about demons and angels.

Well, I was fulfilling my dream in an odd way now.

"You a college student?"

I looked up. Jamie was wiping out some glasses, peeking at me over the top of Sam's computer. My frou-frou drink (as Dean would call it) sat next to the computer. I picked it up and took a sip. "Not at the moment, no. I'm taking an extended vacation," I told her as truthfully as I could. I had no idea when or if I'd ever be able to go back to college. The scarier thought was I didn't know if I even wanted to. I liked where I was. "I'm just keeping busy while waiting for my boyfriend and his brother."

She nodded, looking a bit disappointed for some reason. "That's too bad you have a boyfriend…"

I cocked my head, waiting for her to go on.

"Of all the guys in here who hit on me, I'd rather it be you," she said bluntly.

My eyes widened, face flushed hot. "O-oh…s-sorry…"

She giggled. "No need to be sorry. I'm glad you have someone who makes you happy."

I nodded, feeling a bit awkward, and ducked my head to hide behind the laptop, immersing myself back in my books, only pausing for the briefest moments to sip at my drink. I was so engrossed in what I was writing, I didn't noticed Dean come up beside me until he cleared his throat, making me jump in the chair and about topple over.

He steadied me, eyes full of wicked amusement. "You're pretty jumpy."

"Not funny…" I grumbled, saving my work and shutting the laptop then sliding it back into the case. Hefting over my shoulder, I grabbed Dean's hand and walked with him out of the bar. "What now?"

"Now, you point the monster out, and Sam and I gank it's ass." Dean sounded a bit distracted, not looking at me.

I frowned, but didn't say anything. If there was a problem, he'd say something eventually.

"Sir! Um, the guy who was using his computer at the bar! Wait!"

I halted and turned, staring as Jamie jogged towards me, waving a hand. "Er…is something wrong?"

She smiled, panting a bit. "You left your credit card on the counter."

"Oh!" I made an embarrassed face as I took the card from her. "Oops. I tend to forget things sometimes." I smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you so much, Jamie."

She blinked.

"Your name tag. Your name is Jamie, right?" I pretended to be confused.

"Oh, yes, sorry," she giggled, glancing down at her name tag. "I blanked there for a moment. Well, have a good day with your boyfriend!" she called cheerily, turning and going back inside the bar.

I looked down at the credit card in my hand. "Sheesh…I'm getting really forgetful…"

"She was awfully nice."

My head jerked up, and I looked warily at Dean. "Uh, yeah, she was. I'm a paying customer. So?"

He just looked at me, glanced in the direction Jamie had gone, then shook his head. "Nothing. It's nothing." He tugged at my hand. "Ready to go gank a monster?"

I swallowed back the things I _really_ wanted to say, and instead said, "Born ready."

XXX

We walked around the town a bit, wasting time until the bar closed. The three of us went to a small fast-food restaurant, Dean having a double bacon cheeseburger, Sam a garden burger, and I just picked at my salad. Whatever was going on with Dean had me in a mood, and I wasn't up for eating right then.

"Salad not taste good?"

My gaze shot to Sam's. He smiled at me, though his eyes held a bit of concern. "It's fine," I sighed. "Just not really hungry, is all."

He took another bit of his burger, sending Dean a sideways glance. Dean shook his head at Sam, and went right on eating. I blew out a silent, yet irritated puff of air, blowing my bangs away from my eyes.

This was going well – _not_.

Before I knew it, I was pushing my chair back, mumbling an excuse about getting some air, and practically running from the table. Once outside, I breathed in deep, clearing my head. Dean was acting weird, and I didn't know how to talk to him about it. It started when he found me at the bar… I frowned, puzzling it over.

"Excuse me…"

I stopped in front of an alleyway, and saw a pretty black-haired girl dressed in a dark hoodie and jeans standing a ways away, smiling hopefully at me.

"Could you help me?" she asked, her voice soft and lilting, with a hint of an English accent. "I've lost my phone, and nobody will let me borrow theirs."

Figuring it couldn't hurt, I shrugged, grabbing my cell out of the laptop case and holding it out to her.

"Oh, thank you!" she practically cried, beaming gratefully at me. "I just need to call my brother, let him know where I am." With that, she tapped in a number, and held the phone to her ear. "Hi, yeah, it's me. I'm in the alley right off of the main street. Mm-hmm, I'll be here waiting. Bye!" she shut the phone, handing it back to me. "Thank you. My brother will be here soon."

"Do you want me to wait with you?" uncertainty clouded my mind. I certainly wouldn't wanna be left here alone, especially with a shapeshifter on the loose. Although she didn't know that.

"Nah, that's okay. He'll be along shortly," she shook her head. "But thanks again!"

I nodded, still feeling odd about leaving her there. Turning to go, a figure darting through the shadows behind her caught my eye. I squinted. Crap. The frigging shapeshifter was here – and I didn't have any weapons with me.

Since I had foreknowledge of everything that was going on, I was mainly what Dean called the "Librarian Hunter". Whatever that meant. But now I was regretting not insisting on learning more than shooting a gun, like how to use a knife or _anything_ in a fight to my advantage.

"Um, your brother might find you more easily if you stand close to the entrance," I said as calmly as I could, my expression carefully schooled to look only concerned for the girl in front of me.

She nodded. "You're right." Then she giggled. "I had a few too many, that's why I'm acting so weird, in case you were wondering. Thanks again for your help!" She waggled her fingers at me, then skipped away to the main road.

I stayed where I was, my heartbeat quickening with the fight-or-flight adrenaline rush while the shapeshifter, dressed as a vampire tonight, glided closer.

"Hello, there," he finally said, his accent Romanian. His dark, piercing eyes raked over me, making me feel almost violated. "And what is such an entrancing creature as yourself doing out in the dark, alone?"

I swallowed hard, one hand slowly creeping into the laptop case and pressing the buttons, dialing Dean's phone. I felt for the speaker and mute buttons, pressing them. "U-um…I was just taking a walk. I'll be going now—"

He was suddenly right in front of me. I stared, my body filled with fear. Where was Dean when I needed him?

The shapeshifter sniffed at me, making me freeze. "You smell strange…"

"I'm human, not some weird alien," I joked at him, wincing when his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Then I found my back slammed against the wall of a building, his dark eyes angry as he pinned me there. My back was protesting, twitching and aching.

"You are a Hunter…" His voice was soft, accusing. There was no trace of the previous Romanian accent.

I managed to glare at him. "The others will wonder where I am if you don't let me go."

"And why should I let you go?" He sounded genuinely puzzled. "You would only run and tell the others where I am. I really don't feel like being Hunted down by your kind."

"Then you shouldn't have been murdering innocent people!" I hissed at him, anger rapidly replacing the fear.

"They had a part to play," he sniffed.

"Life isn't a movie, you moron. And even if it was, the hero always gets girl, while the monster gets its ass smoked by the hero."

He glared down at me in annoyance. "You—"

"Let him go!"

The shapeshifter and I both turned our heads. There, making their way towards us, were Dean and Sam. From the look on Dean's face, he wasn't leaving this alleyway until the shapeshifter was lying dead at our feet.

Before I could say or do anything, the shapeshifter whirled me around, locking one arm around my neck. I grabbed at his arm, shoving my chin down behind it so he could crush my windpipe, and settled myself into the horse-stance. That put him off-balance, since he was taller than me. I elbowed him in the gut, twisting and biting his hand.

"You little bitch!" he yelped, releasing me.

I dashed away from him, Dean catching me in a warm, relieved embrace. "Don't ever take off like that by yourself again, Riley!"

I nodded against his chest, then turned as Sam took a shot at the shapeshifter. He winged it, causing the monster to give a low cry of agony from the silver bullet in his arm, then spun and disappeared into the shadows.

"Dammit," Sam swore, glaring into the darkness. He looked at me. "You okay, Riley?"

"I-I'm fine," I whispered, the fear crashing back down on me. I'd been so terrified out of my mind that I wouldn't see either one of them again. I tightened my grasp on Dean, burying my face in his jacket. "I want out of here…" My body was shivering, both from delayed shock, and the chilly night air.

Dean merely scooped me up bridal-style, and carried me out of the alleyway. Sam followed close behind, his gun at the ready. Dean fumbled with the handle to the Impala before opening it, and depositing me gently in the passenger seat. I curled up on the leather, drawing my hood up over my head. Feeling safe in my little bubble, I didn't react as the others got in; Dean starting the car and driving off – most likely back to our motel.

"You okay?"

I didn't answer Dean, just scooted across the seat to cuddle into his side. His presence made me relax more, and I calmed down the rest of the way, knowing he wouldn't let anything or anyone hurt me.

"Hey, Dean? I think he's in shock."

Sam's words made me realize I was still trembling, and my body still felt cold. I told them exactly that.

Dean rubbed a hand over my arm, trying to warm me up as much as he could. "Hot shower when we get there."

"Mm-hmm," I hummed. My fingers found their way under his shirt, pressing into his hot skin. It was heavenly to my icy hands.

He jumped. "Damn, Riley! Your fingers are like icicles!"

"I'm cold," I mumbled petulantly.

It didn't take long for us to reach the motel. Dean immediately had me go to the bathroom to take a hot shower. I was in and out in about twenty minutes, the longest shower I'd ever taken. Then he wrapped me in blankets, and cuddled with me on the bed.

Snug in my soft and warm little cocoon, feeling safe in Dean's arms, I fell fast asleep.

XXX

"No. No, no, no, _no_ , Riley," Dean said adamantly, shaking his head. "We're not even discussing this!"

I turned my pleading gaze on Sam. "You guys will be right there. What's wrong with my plan?"

Sam chewed at his lower lip in thought. "Well…I'm kinda concerned about the shifter doing something to you. But it's not like we'll be leaving you on your own, so…I don't know…" he glanced at a fuming Dean.

" _Sam_ ," Dean said in a warning tone.

Sam frowned at his brother. " _Dean_ ," he said mockingly. "Riley's 23. He's old enough to decide things for himself."

"He's still a novice Hunter!"

"And how exactly do you expect him to get more experience when you won't let him on the field?" Sam pointed out.

Dean growled low in his throat. "He's a _Prophet_ , for fuck's sake! He doesn't _need_ to be out on the field!"

"What if he's out by himself someday, and comes across a monster? And you didn't train him for it? What then, Dean?" Sam ground out, angry that Dean was being so stubborn. "He could get _hurt_."

"I wanna help," I piped up, frowning up at Dean.

He glared at both of us. "Ugh… _fine_!" He threw his hands in the air. "But if he gets hurt, it's on _your_ head, Sam."

I grinned. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do…"

It didn't take long for us to find a costume shop. And, since I still had the biological body of a girl (which I tolerated to some extent), I was the only one able to disguise myself like a blonde girl. I used makeup to shape my face to look more like Jamie, and put on the wavy blonde wig I'd bought at the costume shop.

Then I dug out the grey dress Sam had bought me back in the beginning.

Dean's eyes popped when I walked out of the bathroom. "What…you… _huh_?!"

I quirked an eyebrow. "What? Do I look that bad?"

Sam wiped his grin off his face with his hand, shaking his head at Dean. "I think you shorted his brain out."

Dean didn't say anything—just kept staring at me in shock. And…was that _lust_ I saw?

"Um, I'm gonna put a jacket on. You guys ready?"

"Yeah. Oh, here," Sam stuffed a small clutch purse in my hands. I stared at it blankly. "You're dressed as a girl. Most girls have purses."

"Can't I just carry my wallet?"

"And put it in what pocket?" Sam smirked at me. I glowered down at the offensive, sparkly purse, holding it as if it was a dead skunk.

"Ugh…" I sighed, defeated. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with. I'm gonna be so humiliated after tonight."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you make a hot girl."

I shot him a dirty look. "No, it doesn't, Sam."

Dean cleared his throat roughly, drawing our attention to him. "L-let's get this show on the road, fellas."

His voice was weird, raspy. I watched him as he walked slightly unsteadily out the door to the Impala. "He okay?"

"I told you that dress would be a dangerous thing to wear around him."

Sam took one look at my horrified expression, and started guffawing.

XXX

 _This is stupid…he's never gonna believe I'm Jamie…_

I briskly rubbed my hands together and glanced around, as if I was waiting for someone. Jamie had not worked that day, so it was perfect timing for me to pretend I was her. Shifting from one foot to the other, I dug my phone from the purse, checking the time.

12:30 A.M.

Grimacing, I shoved it back in the purse, and continued to be shifter bait. My plan was going _so_ well so far – with me freezing my ass off in this stupid dress.

"Good evening."

I stiffened. That awful Romanian accent again…ick. Turning my head slowly, I hid most of my face behind the blonde wig, staring over my shoulder at the shifter. Did girls scream right away? Or did they run?

 _Horror movies are_ _ **not**_ _good research for confronting monsters._

The shifter continued speaking. "I have watched you for many nights from afar. My passion knows no bounds, Mina!"

Taking a cue from the episode, I dashed away from him, heading straight for the alleyway he'd cornered me in before. I slowed to a jog, making sure he could hear my footsteps.

"You are the reincarnation of my beloved, and I must have you."

I halted half-way in, panting slightly from the short run. Out of the shadows stepped Sam, watching the shifter over my shoulder with a dark expression. I turned, smirking as the shifter's eyes narrowed when he saw I wasn't Jamie, then widened in recognition. He turned to flee.

Dean stood blocking the only other exit, his expression thunderous. "You tried to hurt Riley. You really think we'd just let you get away with that?"

The shifters gaze darted around, landing back on me. I took a few steps backwards towards Sam, but that damn shifter was too fast, and again had a hold of me. I squirmed, but he merely tightened his arms, making me wheeze. Something gouged the side of my neck, and panic bubbled up, clouding my brain.

"Son of a bitch," Dean swore, lowering his shotgun.

"You should not use such language in the presence of my bride," the shifter chastised Dean.

"I'm _not_ your bride," I growled, jerking at his arms again _. I thought he wanted Jamie_ … "And you aren't Dracula."

"Like _hell_ , Riley's your bride!" Dean snapped, taking a step forward. "I'm not letting you—"

"You have no choice in the matter, Mr. Harker. Mina is _mine_."

"My name isn't _Mina_ ," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. _What a_ _ **douche**_.

Instead of elbowing the shifter, I pretended to pass out, becoming dead-weight in his arms. He grunted in surprise, struggling to hold me up. That was when I attacked.

My foot shot out, connecting with his ankle. The ankle crumpled, and he fell to the ground with a low cry, taking me with him. Another kick, this one aimed at his gut, and I quickly crawled towards Dean. His fingers wrapped around my calf, yanking on my leg.

Then I heard a couple gunshots, and the shifter's hand went lax. I kicked his lip hand off and got to my feet, brushing the dirt off my dress.

Dean's arms wrapped around me. "Riley, you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No," I told him, hugging him back. "I'm fine. A little irritated, but I'm fine."

"Your neck doesn't look fine," Sam mentioned, walking past the shifter's body to us. " _Mina_ ," he teased me.

I turned in Dean's arms, frowning at him. "Oh, ha-ha, very funny. What does that make you, Van Helsing?"

"I hope not," Sam laughed, shaking his head.

Dean rested his chin on my head. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

"Nothing, _Mr. Harker_ ," I purred, pressing my back firmly into his chest.

Dean chuckled, a low rumble in his chest. "Very funny, vampire bride."

"Smart-ass."

"Yea, but I'm _your_ smart-ass," he murmured in my ear, then nipped at the lobe.

"Mm," I hummed, involuntarily lifting my chin up.

Sam made a face and walked past us. "Lemme know when you two are done making out so we can get out of here before the cops arrive!"

"Bitch."

"Jerk!"

XXX

Back at the motel, I quickly stripped off the girl clothes and the wig, slipped into some comfy black sweatpants, and stole one of Dean's t-shirts. Then he started stitching up my neck.

"Looks like he caught you with his nails," Dean said, frowning as he carefully worked the needle through my skin. "Little bastard…" he grumbled. "Glad he's dead."

 _Ow, ow, ow, ow_ … I winced as the needle went in and out again. "It won't get infected, will it?"

"Shouldn't, if you keep it clean," Sam answered. He was reclining on his own bed, reading the Hebrew spell book I'd mentioned to him before.

I grimaced as Dean tied the thread off. "Good. Hey, no pulling," I whined at him, pouting playfully.

"Sorry, babe," he smirked, putting away the needle and thread. Then he gathered me up in his arms. "Want me to kiss it better?"

"I doubt you can kiss away stitches, but you can most certainly try," I teased, pressing my nose against his.

"You two are so sickeningly adorable," Sam groaned, chucking a pillow at us. It hit Dean on the top of his head.

Dean's eyebrows went up, and he looked at Sam challengingly. "Was that a declaration of war, Sammy?"

Sam whipped his head around, glowering at Dean. "Don't you dare."

Dean and I glanced at each other.

We grabbed our pillows, and attacked Sam, yelling, "PILLOW FIGHT!"

 **Okay, this one was longer than the others. I had a lot more details I wanted to add in!**

 **Did you like it? Hate it? Neither?**

 **Please comment your thoughts! I'd love to hear from you!**

 **Reviews feed my muse!**

 **Over and out, and Allonsy,**

 **Eli**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey~~~~, everybody! I'm ba~~ack again for more adventures with our favorite brothers and their little tag-a-long from a different dimension.**

 **Also, I have received a review that made me really think. Thank you, FandomCrazed, for reminding me to address this in the fanfic. You are correct, the Prophet** **does** **have a guardian Archangel. But no, it's not Raphael. I don't like him. No, it's someone that the writers should never have killed off on the show.**

 **Can you guess who?**

 **Lol, I hope so. Anyhoo, this new chapter is based on the episode: Yellow Fever. Some of it is the same, but I did change a lot of things around, since Riley is there to help Dean.**

 **So, without further ado, I present to you chapter nine!**

 **Allonsy,**

 **Eli**

I glowered at Dean and Sam as they walked in our motel room, not moving from my tense seat on the bed. "I hope you two are satisfied."

"I know _I_ am," Dean laughed, smirking at Sam.

Sam scowled, heading straight for the bathroom.

Dean shook his head, though didn't meet my angry gaze. "He got spleen juice all over him, heh."

"Great. Good for him," I said as sarcastically as I could.

"What's _your_ problem?" Dean made a face, while taking a beer out of the paper grocery bag on the floor and opening it to take a swig. "You've been little mister moody ever since we got here."

"I told you why!" I burst out, turning on the bed so I wasn't looking at him. No way in hell did I want him seeing those traitor tears in my eyes! "But it's too late, you've already caught the ghost sickness from that corpse you went to see." I glared at him over my shoulder. " _Why wouldn't you listen?"_

Dean stared at me, the irritation melting into confusion and concern as I spoke, then turning into realization and shock. " _That's_ what you were talking about?" Then he muttered to himself, "So that's why the EMF meter went crazy on me…"

I folded my arms, facing the other way again.

"…is this another thing you knew ahead of time but didn't warn us about?"

"I warned you _yesterday_ , Dean. But you were too busy diddling around on the computer to actually take a few seconds to listen to me," I shot back. _As usual_. Getting up off the bed, I grabbed my duffel bag and rummaged through it to find a new change of clothes. Sam came out, fully dressed, rubbing a towel on his wet hair, and I dashed inside. "I'll talk to you after I shower, Dean."

Stripping and getting in the shower, with the water still piping hot, I relaxed, sighing as the heat melted the tension out of my muscles. I knew the shower wouldn't resolve the communication/listening problems between me and Dean, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

The more I thought about Dean, the more my head hurt. I pushed him out of my mind, and searched my memories for a good song to hum, or sing. Whichever I felt like. My eyes closed as I soaped up my hair with shampoo, making a mental note to get my hair cut soon. It had to be more than four inches long by now. Then the lyrics to Judas by Lady Gaga popped into my head. Without thinking, I immediately started singing the song softly.

 _Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,  
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,  
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as  
Judas! Juda-a-a! Judas! Juda-a-a!  
Judas! Juda-a-a! Judas! Ga-Ga!_

 _Judas! Juda-a-a! Judas! Juda-a-a!  
Judas! Juda-a-a! Judas! Ga-Ga!  
When he comes to me, I am ready  
I wash his feet with my hair if he needs  
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain  
Even after three times he betrays me  
Ahh ah ah ah ah Ahh ah ah ah  
I'll bring him down, bring him down, down  
Ahh ah ah ah ah Ahh ah ah ah  
A king with no crown, king with no crown  
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby, it's so cruel  
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby!  
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby, it's so cruel  
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby!  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,  
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,  
I'm in love—  
_

A knock on the door startled me out of my little solo, and I pushed the shower curtain aside slightly. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to get some food," came Sam's voice. "You want anything?"

"Something vegetarian, please," I called back. "Thanks, Sam!"

"You're welcome."

I promptly rinsed off, and hopped out of the shower, drying myself off with a worn, grey towel. After pulling my clothes on, I draped the towel over my head, and gently rubbed at my wet hair, walking out of the bathroom. "Shower's free if you wanna get cleaned up," I told Dean, not looking at him. Instead, I let the towel hang around my neck, and pulled out one of the bottles of root beer Sam had bought for me at the last town. "Water should still be hot, so—"

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you about the ghost sickness," Dean interrupted me. He sounded strangely on edge.

Finally, I did look at him. Even though I knew why he was looking at me like he was terrified out of his wits that I was gonna kill him or something, it still felt really…weird.

"Dean, it's fine." I smiled reassuringly at him. Abandoning my root beer on the small kitchenette table, I walked over to him and hugged him tenderly. "We'll take care of this whole mess tomorrow. But you _have_ to stay here so you don't freak yourself out so bad you have a heart attack. You hear me?"

His eyes narrowed at that. "Riley—"

"Sam and I will go take care of this. You concentrate on keeping calm," I felt those friggin traitor tears well up in my eyes again. _Dammit_. "Okay? I refuse to lose you to this insane sickness."

"Riley…" he murmured, his eyes softening. "Alright. I promise to stay here. But only if you promise to be careful." He fell back on the bed he was sitting on, pulling me with him so I landed on top with a high-pitched yelp. "I don't wanna lose you either."

"As if you could get rid of me that easily. I'm like gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe," I smirked, leaning down to bump my nose against his.

With a low, playful growl, he slammed his mouth against mine, and with a sharp twist, fluidly turned us so I was underneath him. "Dean…" I mumbled against his mouth. With a sigh, I gave in, pressing myself against him.

He gently kissed his way from my mouth down my neck, stopping at my pulse point to nibble and suck. My neck arched almost involuntarily, and I pressed my lips together so I wouldn't make a sound. I felt my whole body go hot with embarrassment at the low whine that still sounded from deep in my throat.

Dean chuckled against my neck, one hand slowly drawing the collar of my shirt down. I looked down, a bit bewildered when he lifted his head to stare at my anti-possession tattoo. His green eyes flicked up to meet my confused gaze, then back down. Without warning, he was pressing his lips to the black ink in my skin, chastely kissing it.

My head fell back on the blanket, my eyes closing at the tingly feeling I got from his lips against my bare skin. Then his mouth and hand were gone, the collar of my shirt back in place. "Hey," I complained, opening my eyes to pout at him. "What'd you stop for?"

The wicked gleam in his darkened green eyes made my heart stutter. He used the same hand to slowly push the hem of my shirt up, uncovering my angel warding tattoo.

"Babe, you look positively sexy," he began murmuring, peppering the inked skin with light, chaste kisses. "Sinfully delicious, and adorably _fuckable_ with those damn tattoos. Shit, you really don't know what you're doing to me, do you…" he trailed off with a small, gentle bite on my tattoo.

I couldn't help giggling, and squirming a bit. The bite kinda surprised me, and it tickled!

He chuckled, his breath warm on my skin. "Stop moving, giggle monster."

"Can't help it! That kinda tickled."

Wrong thing to tell him.

Next thing I knew, he was moving his mouth all over my abdomen, mouthing at the sensitive skin. I broke into loud laughter, writhing, trying to get away. He grabbed my wrists, pressing them to the bed by my shoulders, and continued his assault.

"Hey—oh, crud, not _again_."

Dean froze, a low growl of frustration coming from him as he glanced up at me. My laughter subsided into breathless giggles. I turned my head, my face going hot with shock and embarrassment at the sight of Sam standing in the doorway of our motel room, staring at us in weary resignation, and amusement.

"Dude, what the hell were you _doing_?"

Dean turned, glowering at Sam. "Why is it you _always_ come back at the _wrong time_?"

XXX

The sound of something breaking had me rushing from the bathroom, my toothbrush in hand. I stared down at the clock, plastic face shattered, then lifted my gaze to Dean, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"The tick-tocks getting to you, huh?"

He glowered into space. "Not funny."

"Sorry," I said, not sounding sorry at all. Turning, I headed back into the bathroom to finish brushing my teeth. "But Sam and Bobby and I'll take care of the ghost, and you'll be fine, Dean."

"Yeah…" his voice was weak.

"Stop reading!"

"How the hell do you…never mind…" he muttered the last part.

I rolled my eyes, hearing him shut the book and toss it on the floor. "Dude, Prophet of the Lord? Person from another dimension? Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Shaddup."

"Rude."

I poked my head out of the bathroom, scrubbing my teeth, and nodded at Sam. He smirked back, eyes flitting between me and Dean.

"At least I'm just interrupting you two arguing this time."

My eyes narrowed at that. _Ha-ha_. I ducked back inside the bathroom to rinse, then came back out, settling myself on the bed. Sam opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Dean started gagging. He rushed over to the sink and spat out a wood chip.

"Oh, perfect," he groaned, rubbing at his forehead. He turned to me. "Riley, please tell me I'm not gonna choke to death on wood chips."

"You're not gonna choke to death on wood chips," I told him seriously, giving him an 'are you kidding me?' look.

He visibly relaxed. "Good."

"Anyway," Sam cleared his throat, drawing our attention back to him. "Bobby helped me find the lumber mill you told us about, Riley. Since you know ahead of time how to get rid of the ghost, this should take no time at all."

I nodded, beaming proudly. No sense in making Dean suffer any longer than he had to.

"Unfortunately," Sam continued, glancing at Dean. "Since we need a distraction so one of us can wrap the chain around his neck, you'll need to come along."

Dean stiffened. "No way in hell am I letting you take Riley! He could catch this freakin disease too!"

"But I'm _not_ a guy that uses _fear_ as a weapon," I calmly stated, glaring at him with my arms crossed stubbornly. "Dean, when are you gonna trust me to be able to take care of myself? You pulled this same kind of crap with that Shapeshifter, and I'm really sick of it! Stop treating me like a child!" I was off the bed now, standing nearly toe-to-toe with him. Sam was in my peripheral, face in his palm as he muttered about us being morons. "Dammit, I'm a fucking twenty-three-year-old prophet and I think I know what I'm getting into!"

Dean just glared back. "Just because you're an adult that has visions doesn't mean you know everything, nor that you can do anything you want to!"

"You're impossible!" I growled at him. "Why are you acting like this? You're so possessive and controlling!"

" _I don't want to lose you!"_

Those words echoed through the room. My eyes widened so much it hurt, and I sat down hard on the bed. The flush creeping up Dean's neck barely registered in my mind.

 _D-did he just say what I think he did?_

"I've lost nearly everyone I care about," Dean spoke again, his voice low and rough. "Hell, the only reason I got Sam back was because of the deal I made. I refuse to lose you too, Riley."

I swallowed hard. "Dean," my voice was weak. "You won't lose me. We're just gonna take care of one little ghost, then we'll be back."

Sam stood, placing a hand on my head. "I won't let anything happen to him, Dean."

Dean looked at Sam. "You better not. Or else I'll kick your ass, Sammy."

"It's Sam, not…ugh," Sam shook his head, waving a hand at Dean. "Forget it."

I looked down at my hands, laying limp in my lap. "S-so, did, um, Bobby confirm my ghosty diagnosis?"

Sam huffed a laugh. "Yeah, it's definitely a Buru Buru. Getting rid of it is gonna be a fun challenge."

"Challenge?" Dean looked like he was starting to hyperventilate.

I shot Sam a mean look, and jumped up to hug Dean. "Dean, he's just being a smart-ass. We know how to get rid of it, so it won't be hard for us at all."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Can we please go? We're wasting time."

I wrinkled my nose at Sam, then pressed a quick kiss to Dean's cheek before grabbing my jacket and heading out the door after Sam. "Just relax Dean. This'll all be over within an hour."

XXX

I stared up at the lumber mill with trepidation. No way did I want to go in there. But I had to, for Dean's sake. We couldn't let him suffer because of this ghost.

Bobby stayed outside in his car, the iron chain etched with spell work tied to his back fender. I followed Sam inside, my rock-salt shotgun in hand as I looked around for Luther.

"It's really sad, y'know?" I mutter to Sam, moving to study the pictures of Jessie O'Brien I'd found at Luther's desk. "Jessie's husband killing Luther because he thinks Luther did something to Jessie. People are so stupid."

"Yeah," Sam answered absentmindedly.

"You're not even listening," I sighed, still poking through the old drawings. "Damn, he was good. Should've tried his hand at being a professional artist."

Sam sighed loudly. "Could you please focus on the Hunt?" He walked away.

"Sah-ree," I mumbled sarcastically. It was when I turned to follow him again, knocking a few papers to the ground without meaning to, that I noticed Luther, standing in the shadows a few feet away from me. His eyes were locked on mine, angry and defensive. "Uh…Sam?"

"What?" Sam was on the other side of some machinery, his voice slightly muffled.

"Could you come here? I see him."

Sam was around the machinery in a split second. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Luther, his hazel eyes narrowing. "Well, crap. Guess I'm doing the chain."

Luther suddenly charged at me. I yelped, and dodged him, trying to run, but my feet slipped on the papers I accidentally knocked to the ground. Luther grabbed the lapels of my jacket, pulling me close, his angry eyes searching mine. I struggled to get free. Without warning, he let me loose. I slipped on the papers again and fell, my head cracking against the floor, and I saw stars.

"Ow…" I moaned, curling up into a fetal position.

I hazily watched as Sam managed to wrap the chain around Luther's neck, the ghost's face terrified and angry at the same time. Sam yelled for Bobby to drive. The chain pulled taut, and Luther was pulled to the ground and dragged out the swinging doors.

"Riley!" Sam gently lifted me off the concrete. My vision was swimming, but I could still kinda see him. "Hang on, Riley."

That was the last thing I heard.

XXX

"I _knew_ I should've gone too!"

"Dean, _no_ , you were sick—"

"Dammit, Sam! That doesn't matter! You heard the doctor! If he'd hit the concrete a little harder, and a couple inches lower, _he wouldn't be here_!"

"Will you two idjits stop arguing next to Riley? You're gonna wake the poor kid up!"

I forced my eyes open, squinting at the bright lights filling my eyes. "Who turned on the lights…" I groaned, shutting my eyes again. "Too damn bright…"

"Riley?"

I opened my eyes to see Dean leaning over me, his worried expression melting into a relieved one. "Hi, Dean. What happened?" I grimaced as a small pain shot through my head. "My head hurts…" I reached up to rub my head, but Dean caught my wrist in his hand, lowering it back to the bed.

"You got knocked out, babe. Sam panicked and brought you here. And don't touch your head," his eyes flickered to my head then back to my eyes. "You cut yourself pretty bad. Good sized goose egg, too, for that matter."

"Stupid ghost," I sighed, rolling my eyes. Then I looked at Dean sharply. "Wait, where is here?"

"Hospital," Bobby answered this time. He was standing at the foot of my bed. "Damn Angel wasn't answering our prayers for some reason, so we brought you here. And no complaints!" He added the last part when I opened my mouth.

I pouted. "I hate hospitals."

"I do too, sweetheart," Dean chuckled, bringing my hand up to press a gentle kiss to the palm. "But now that you're awake, it shouldn't be much longer till you can get released."

A nurse came in to check my vitals. She was pleased I was awake, and told us she'd inform the doctor I was ready to go. About a half hour later, I was practically running from the hospital, eager to get away from the smell of antiseptic and the sounds of sick and hurting people.

After the mess with Gabby's death, hospitals and me just didn't mix.

XXX

Dean made the decision to spend one more night in the motel room. He said it was so I could rest my head without it jostling all over because of the car. I told him not to insult his Baby, that she was a smooth ride.

He told me not to be such a little smart-ass.

So that night, while Dean and Sam were asleep, I lay next to Dean, wide awake, my thoughts going to Cas. Was he aware of what the higher Angels were planning? Did he know Michael's true intentions? Was he really going to help us?

"Riley."

I turned my head. Cas was standing between the beds, looking down at me. "Hiya, Cas. Something wrong?"

"I could feel that you wanted me here," he said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh, yeah…" I slowly sat up, careful not to wake Dean, and beckoned for Cas to follow me. We went outside the motel room, and I shut the door. "I need to talk to you, Cas."

He tilted his head, waiting for me to speak.

"I know the Angels are trying to bring about the apocalypse," I finally said, keeping me gaze on him. He looked down, his lips pressed together tightly. _Thought so_. "And I also know Sam and Dean are gonna do everything they can to stop it. I'm gonna help them."

He squinted at me. "You're going to tell them everything?"

"No, only the things they need to know." I sighed, running a hand through my hair and leaning against the door. "Lucifer is still going to rise from his cage."

Cas stared at me.

"I've seen it. But it won't be because of Lilith. We're gonna kill her. Something else is gonna let him out. So I need to know," I leaned closer, locking our gazes together. "Are you with us? Or against us?"

Cas looked off, obviously thinking over what I had said. "If I stand against my brothers and sisters, I will be cast out of Heaven."

"God will let you back in, Cas," I told him gently, smiling at him.

"Do you know that for certain?"

"Yes."

Cas looked at me, his blue eyes full of sorrow and knowing. "I will always be on your side, Prophet. Someone needs to look after you." His gaze went to the bandage still on my head.

"Oh, this?" I light touched it with my fingertips, grimacing at the memories of how I'd banged my head. "Got this from battling a ghost today. I'm fine—"

He pressed to fingers to my head, and the pain was instantly gone. "Your concussion is gone, Riley. So is the wound and the bruising."

"Thanks, Cas," I smiled again. "Does this mean you're my Guardian Angel?" I joked.

He seemed to wilt. "No…I'm sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?"

He didn't want to look at me. "I know who your Archangel is supposed to be…but I don't know where he is."

"Isn't it Raphael?" I asked, making a face.

"No. It's another Archangel."

I squinted at him, trying to think about who he could mean, when suddenly it hit me. " _Gabriel_?"

Cas looked at me warily.

"You're telling me my Guardian Archangel is _Gabriel_?"

"Yes."

 **Sheesh…this was a sorta difficult chapter to write. Parts of it were easy to write, but other parts…it was like pulling teeth, lmao…**

 **Please, review! I would love to answer your questions! (And they help me remember parts of the storyline that have to be added in the fanfic, lol.)**

 **And who likes Gabriel? I sure do! I hate Raphael, so I decided Gabriel was to be the Archangel to protect Riley. Ha, take that, mutant ninja turtle angel!**

 **Over and out and Allonsy,**

 **Eli**


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